START OF THE LOSS
In September 2017 mechanical equipment in an egg processing facility caught fire, causing smoke damage throughout the warehouse facility, and severe damage to the egg processing conveyer belt and nearby barns that contained live chickens. More than 100 firefighters fought the blaze, which resulted from a conveyor belt that malfunctioned. Firefighting efforts were hampered by shifting winds and lack of water. Tanker trucks and eventually helicopters were used to haul water to douse the flames. Over 150,000 gallons of water were used to finally contain the fire six hours later. Unfortunately, 300,000 chickens perished and two commercial hen houses were destroyed by fire.
PROCESS
CHALLENGES
- Paul Davis worked quickly to ensure that the business was back up and running as soon as possible.
- Business interruption costs amounted to $100K per day.
- Paul Davis had the business 50% operational within 3 days.
- Business was operating at full capacity on the fifth day.
The client reached out to Paul Davis Restoration of Utah, looking for immediate assistance in getting smoke damage cleaned. They had reached out to multiple other companies, and no one had the capacity or ability to complete the work. We were given a timeframe of one week to complete cleaning the smoke damage. This was due to the fact that the client was losing upwards of $100,000-$200,000 per day in lost revenue.
In light of the short timeline, we gathered multiple project managers, all of our mitigation crew, and some temporary workers to complete the job. In total, we had between 30 to 40 people working extended shifts of 10-11 hours, in order to meet the client’s deadline. The building had 30 foot ceilings, so we brought in a couple scissor lifts in order to reach the ceilings. We also had about 18 ladders on site at one time. Our main concern, in regard to the cleaning, was making sure that the facility was clean enough to pass FDA inspection.
One of the main reasons why the client needed the work expedited, was because they also needed time to repair and fix the conveyor system that was damaged during the fire. While their crew managed and handled the repairs for the conveyor system, they could not begin working on it until the entire facility was cleaned and passed FDA and safety inspections.
CHALLENGES
- We had to dispose of 300,000 eggs daily that remaining chickens were producing. Large containers were brought in to dispose of the eggs until the facility was up and running. We were given one week for our portion of the project. We were able to clean the entire facility while an in-house team took care of the conveyer belt.
- Cleaning was completed using large lifts; including 2 scissor lifts, and one boom lift, to accommodate the 30 feet tall ceilings. A crew of 30-40 people were brought in to go through the entire facility for cleaning.
- The food grade equipment was re-cleaned by a certified team to pass FDA inspection.
Project Duration:
One week for initial cleaning.
One additional week for minor drywall and painting repairs.
Project Cost:
$130K