The American spirit of community becomes very evident when a local disaster becomes a national relief effort. The circle of damage may be relatively small like a flooded street, or a Hurricane Sandy that ravaged almost the entire east coast. The response of help from businesses and individuals draws from all communities from east to west north to south. Caution is quickly thrown aside by the empathy of helping fellow countrymen in trouble. [Read more…]
Is Your Washing Machine a Potential Water Hazard?
Don’t be held captive by your washing machine’s potential for destruction.
Of all the hazards that can damage property, water is the most insidious. Water is for the most part silent, travels in all directions from the source, and often doesn’t surface immediately. It just lies quietly in the dark doing its damage. Sometimes it goes undetected for weeks and even months.
There are many preventative steps any homeowner can take themselves to detect a water leak. Checking the water bill every month is a simple check, as an unidentifiable spike may lead to detecting a leak. Be alert to water stains or standing water. Usually you can track down the leak and correct the cause. [Read more…]
Water Damage Hits With a One-Two Punch
Did a pipe burst and flood your home? You’ve got more to worry about than ruined carpet.
If you have a fire in your home, you call the fire department. Once the fire is extinguished, you have time to take care of insurance assessment and renovation. But water damage—that’s a different story. If you incur water damage of any sort or source, you should be aware of several precautions recommended by restoration professionals and insurance companies. Here’s PDR’s top five tips if you experience a water-damage emergency in your home or business: [Read more…]
California Earthquake Early-Warning System May Get New Funding
Late last month, State Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) introduced legislation to fund a statewide earthquake early-warning system using technology that already exists. During a press conference at Caltech in Pasadena on January 28th, it was discussed that the prototype called the California Integrated Seismic Network needs more money in order for it to go public, and the estimated cost is $80 million. [Read more…]
Extreme Weather, Natural Disasters Can Hinder Medical Assistance
Scenes from Boston in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
When storms hit a populated area, like Hurricane Sandy did in late 2012, we usually think of devastation like what’s pictured above. We can imagine that it’s hard for emergency vehicles to get through, and that there’s chaos at hospitals across the affected areas.
But did you ever stop to think about how flooding and/or fire can affect the actual tools of the medical industry? Think of how many sterilized products go into just a simple, routine blood test, or even a throat swab. Now think about how you would perform these procedures when you’re entire storage facility has been flooded with rank stormwater, causing all of your hypodermic needles, gauze and other implements to be completely useless. [Read more…]
Pet Safety Tips for the Holidays
We know how much our customers love their families, and how important it is to share the holidays with those you love. And we know that many people consider their pets to be part of the family, and even consider them their children. How can you make sure the four-legged family members stay safe and healthy this holiday season.? Here’s our top tips—consider this our gift to your furry friends! [Read more…]
Preventing Kitchen Fires During Thanksgiving
Did you know that the top day each year for fires started by cooking equipment? It seems that the combination of families getting together, alcohol, gravy, wrestling a turkey into an oven and more alcohol add up to accidents that result in kitchen fires.
Our business is based on helping people recover from fires and floods, but that doesn’t mean we wish these accidents on anyone. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a quiet Thanksgiving holiday, and to help achieve that goal, we’ve listed these tips that come to you both from all of us at PDR Inland Empire, and also the NFPA: [Read more…]
Beware Inland Empire Scam Artists After Disaster Strikes
We might think that just because we’re in beautiful Southern California, where usually not much happens in the way of disasters, we’re safe from people who prey on the misfortunes of others. Sadly, you’ll be wrong. Although we don’t have hurricanes, flooding rivers, tornadoes or blizzards, we have wildfires, mudslides and earthquakes, and criminals that are ready to make money off the back of someone losing their home or business.
Whenever a disaster happens, whether its as devastating as losing your entire company to a fire or less dire like a leak in your home’s roof, it is a troubling time for a homeowner or business owner. There are so many details to worry about, on top of the event itself—and this is exactly the time when unscrupulous fly-by-night contractors and other scam artists will move in to capitalize on their misfortune. [Read more…]
Disaster Planning on a National Scale and in California
Hurricane Isaac makes landfall.
Whether or not you agree with the claims about global warming, you can’t deny a few facts about the weather from the past few years. And finally, groups like the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) are trying to be proactive.
Let’s have a recap on extreme weather events across the country: [Read more…]
It’s All Sunshine Now, But Winter Is Coming
If you see this on your roof, you will have some unwanted water in your home when it rains.
And even though our winter won’t be as bad as the fictional winter we referenced from Game of Thrones in the title, we should be bracing for an El Niño. Last year we had an La Niña winter, which means it was dry and fairly warm, so you can guess what an El Niño is. That’s right, it’s the exact opposite.
Even though there are varying degrees of El Niño weather, and we’re not absolutely sure what to expect this year, we’re advocating some preparation to head off any potential disasters. Even though flooding and water damage is our business, we’d like to help the Inland Empire stay dry and safe.
We’re more than happy to come out and check your roof—you do remember that we are fully licensed and bonded contractors, don’t you? But there are ways for you to check your roof yourself. Just please be careful—we don’t want any accidents on ladders! (For our commercial customers, we highly recommend that you use a professional to check your roof.) [Read more…]