Emergency Readiness Plan

8/3/2024 (Permalink)

Download the Ready App today to stay ahead of your emergency preparedness!

Most businesses will not be able to open their doors after a disaster strikes. Unfortunately,  disasters can happen anytime and can be completely unexpected. The best way to get back on your feet after a disaster is having a plan already prepared.

SERVPRO® offers an ERP app/program. The ERP stands for Emergency Ready Plan, and helps business owners consolidate any important information that could be needed during an event. 

We will have one of our marketers come out and walk you through the steps and prepare a binder with all your information. 

You will be able to have a written copy of your plan as well as an online option to edit when needed. Included in the plan is information on electric, water, gas, and alarm shut offs. You can even customize where we park when you have an emergency.

If you want more information give SERVPRO® of Rockford a call and we can provide all this free of charge! 

Rockford Franchise FAQs

8/3/2024 (Permalink)

Some info about our franchise!

How long have we been in business? Our franchise has been operating for 19 years now; however, our Corporate entity has been established for 40 years!

What services do we offer? We offer a full range of restoration services that include, fire restoration, remediation, and reconstruction; water restoration, remediation, and reconstruction; mold mitigation and remediation. We also offer residential and commercial cleaning services, board-ups, biohazard and trauma cleanup, carpet cleaning, and mold mitigation services. Our ability to be faster to any disaster saves insurance companies money, and gets home and business owners back into their property in a timely manner!

What sets us apart from our competition? For starters, we do background checks on all of our employees to guarantee they are upstanding people, and qualified to work for us.  We put our employees through intense training programs to make sure they are up to date on the latest in safety and work related procedures.  All of our employees are IICRC certified which means they can provide a higher quality of service, and make our clients feel at ease knowing their most important possessions are in safe hands.  Our employees always dress professionally and follow the platinum rule of customer service.  Another benefit is our 1-4-8 Response guidelines required by SERVPRO® corporate. This means that when we receive a notice of loss, we will be in touch with the client or adjuster within 1 hour to determine the scope of the job. Within 4 hours a team of technicians will arrive on the scene to begin the process of mitigation.  The sooner we are able to extract water and dry the affected areas the better chance we have of avoiding secondary damage requiring some tear-out and restoration which is more costly. Within 8 business hours a verbal briefing of the scope will be communicated to the adjuster.  We also offer a two year limited warranty on our workmanship and a one year limited warranty on materials. We also pride ourselves on our personal lines of insurance, we carry policies above and beyond that which is required in our field.

Is there any restoration service we can not do?  We are not licensed in roofing or plumbing, therefore, we sub contract those services out to people we trust to do the same quality of work that we provide.

How quickly can you get results? You can always depend on our quick response to any emergency.  Results depend on the severity of the problem. A clean water job can usually be mitigated in three days. A fire loss may result in the home or business owner being out of the structure for months. 

We are more than willing to share some of customers' satisfaction reports, and answer any further questions anyone may have! At SERVPRO we make any of life's little disasters "Like it never even happened"!

Carbon Monoxide – The Silent Killer

8/9/2023 (Permalink)

This picture came direct from the CDC

Did you know that more than fifty thousand people visit the emergency room each year, and of those people 400 will die from carbon monoxide poisoning? There are even rare occasions where carbon monoxide is used as a suicide measure. Often times the individual will sit inside a running car with nothing allowing air circulation. 

Carbon monoxide can be very hard to detect as it is colorless and odorless (hence the name "silent killer"). Symptoms can be very similar to every day ailments: headache, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, and other flu like symptoms. It can represent the flu without the fever. It can also mask itself so that you feel better when you leave an environment. So, if you are feeling ill inside, and you go outside and find your symptoms going away, then it may be CO poisoning. Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin and prevents those cells from carrying oxygen. Those with weakened immune systems (such as elderly and infants) can have an increased risk of getting sick from carbon monoxide. It can be fatal.

What kinds of things can emit carbon monoxide? Portable space heaters, gas heaters, an old furnace, or a gas oven can all emit the gas. You can also risk exposure if you use outdoor camping related products indoors; such as a camping stove, or charcoal grill. 

Adequate ventilation is the key when using one of these types of entities. It is also wise to install carbon monoxide detectors in your home (or business) when using these types of appliances.

*photo from CDC website

It's Virtually the Holidays

12/8/2020 (Permalink)

Happy Holidays!

As we came out of our first month donning the world of virtual family gatherings, we step into a second month of those possibilities. Many of us find ourselves questioning how we are going to make the festivities we celebrate in December feel joyous. We find ourselves struggling with what it will all look like, how the logistics need to line up and work out, and it's causing additional holiday stress. 

As we have been organizing things with our families we have pondered many questions. How? When? Will we have a meal together somehow? Open gifts? Share some spirits? What platform will we use? How much time do we need to set aside? How are we going to feel?

Keep this in mind. The season is meant to bring cheer, don't lose sight of that. Try not to stress all the little details of your time together, they will fall into place. You will ultimately feel what you want.

As someone who is adjusting to their best friend moving thousands of miles away during a pandemic (making it impossible to physically visit), we have learned how to make things seem more like we are still together. Here are some suggestions to make it feel a little more "normal".

• Virtually bake together
• Prepare a meal together
• Build a gingerbread house together
• Watch a movie together (we stream and try to just start at the same time)
• Open gifts together on a video platform
  • Take turns opening them
  • Host a virtual secret santa
• Cheers a virtual drink the same way
• Setup a video gaming campaign

There are several video chatting services available. FaceTime, Facebook video, Alexa Show, Zoom, Teams, and Google connect are just a few. 

Remember, it's a time for cheer. We hope you all have happy holidays, however possible!