This Is Not A Drill!
4. Assemble and foster relationships with remediation companies. Nitz- berg says they recently had a fire at one of their facilities and had to call a remediation company. Experts advise it’s a good idea to build a relation- ship with the companies before the disaster strikes. If there is a natural disaster, for example, affecting many different people and businesses, if you’ve fostered a relationship with a company, they may be able to help you sooner.
5. Make sure your rules about stor- age are explained to
tenants.Most long-time facility owners and manag- ers have a story about the vehicle that caught fire in a unit, strange smells that ended up being drug- related chemicals, or even lithium batteries catching fire. Some disasters can be avoided if tenants know and understand the rules about storing hazardous materials and chemicals, vehicles, gasoline, and other items. “Of course, you may not know what every tenant is storing, but regularly inspecting the property can help,” Ballard says. “When they’re moving in, go out and inspect the rest of your property, but be nosy in what they’re storing as you walk by.”
Mixon once detected a strange odor
coming from a unit while out walking a property. It ended up being chemicals used to make methamphetamine.
Getting Through The Disaster
1. Call emergency services first. “Iden- tify the disaster, and if it’s a fire, call the fire department,” says Nitzberg. “It may sound silly, but in an emergency sometimes people panic and forget the basics.”
2. Make sure to prioritize safety of employees and tenants. Mixon says your employees should be trained in helping tenants exit the building, as well as ensuring all escape routes are practiced and marked prior to any emergency. Safety equipment
such as fire extinguishers, which may help people escape, should always be in good working order too. Your employees should understand their safety, and that of tenants on the property, comes first. “Don’t be a hero” says Ballard. “If they’re being robbed, they should cooperate; if it’s a tornado, they should take cover without regard for computers or records or anything except their safety.”
3. Place the appropriate calls. Once emergency services are notified and everyone is safely out of danger, experts say the handbook should
your records and for that of the insur- ance company, anytime you enter or must remove anything from a unit due to safety concerns. Nitzberg says photo- graphic and video documentation is best. Mixon adds, “We require incident reports on every incident, no matter how big or small. We never know when we will need them.”
5. Set up containers, dumpsters, portable bathrooms, and tempo- rary office space. Ballard says the fire that destroyed their office and manager’s unit had them working from the back of a truck until the city approved other temporary buildings
Mixon once detected a strange odor coming from a unit while out walking a property. It ended up being chemicals used to make methamphetamine.
outline who should be called first. Most managers who work for owners or management companies typically call their superior, who then coor- dinates notifying owners, insurance companies, and remediation contrac- tors after emergency services gives the green light for re-entry.
4. Coordinate communication. Gary Sugarman, COO of William Warren Group in Santa Monica, Calif., says, “Comprehensive and continuous communication should be estab- lished with tenants, employees, and authorities through all means available, such as emails, texts, calls, letters, and social media.” He adds the communications should outline what happened, the plan(s), and what tenants and employees should and shouldn’t do. “These may be many different communications over a long period of time,” he says.
As well, experts advise to make
sure employees understand who is to communicate with the media. “It’s typi- cally the owner or representative of the company,” says Ballard. Finally, commu- nication also includes documenting for
64 August 2023 •
MiniStorageMessenger.com
and portable bathrooms. Sugarman says it’s important to coordinate with tenants on when and how they may go through and move their property and to also have dumpsters for them to use as well as containers for items that have been separated from the units. “It’s very important not to just throw everything away, so storing them in containers until they are claimed may be necessary,” he says. “Also communicate clearly to the tenants how long the containers will remain on site before unclaimed prop- erty is disposed of.”
Agnello offers one more piece of
advice that will help you and your tenants through the disaster: “Don’t take anything the tenants say personally and show a lot of compassion and empathy. Most people have an emotional attachment to their items, so show a lot of patience, which will go a long way in easing tension.”
Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell is a freelance journalist based in the Ozark Mountains. She is a regular contributor toMini-Storage Messenger. Her busi- ness articles have also appeared in Entrepreneur,
Aol.com,
MSN.com, and The Kansas City Star.
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