Small Fires, Big Problems: Emergency Management from a Small Business Perspective

1. Small Fires, Big Problems:Emergency Management from a Small Business Perspective SESHA North Texas Chapter Meeting June 3, 2010 W&M Environmental Group, Inc. Heather Woodward, REM hwoodward@wh-m.com; 972-516-0300

2. Heather Woodward • Senior Environmental Consultant and Manager, Industrial Services Division at W&M Environmental Group, Inc. • Registered Environmental Manager (REM) with over 20 years of experience in EH&S and manufacturing engineering. • Project experience includes environmental compliance, real estate due diligence and remediation project management. • Other work experience includes property loss prevention and employee wellness programs. • Education • B.S., Industrial Engineering, New Mexico State University • M.S., Hazardous & Waste Materials Management, Southern Methodist University

3. Discussion Topics • Introduction • Background Information • Fire Event Timeline • Response Actions • Initial • Mid-Term • Long-Term • Lessons Learned

4. Background Information • Small to Medium Size Business (~500 employees) • Operation for certain production processes 24/7 • Manufactured night vision equipment for military • Semi-Clean Clean Rooms • Three different clean room manufacturing areas • Class 1,000(?) (e.g., 2-stage entry, tacky mats, smocks, booties & hair nets) • Other non-clean room manufacturing, office, warehouse/storage

5. Background Information • Fire occurred in early 1990’s • Paper records more common than electronic records • Fire started on 3rd shift around 2:00 – 3:00 am

6. Fire Event Timeline Warehouse Archives Archives Archives Archives Archives Archives Archives Archives Archives Archives Misc Equipment / Obsolete Inventory (e.g., junk) CONCRETE FLOOR Clean Room Production & Vacuum Equipment Production & Vacuum Equipment Production & Vacuum Equipment Production & Vacuum Equipment

7. Fire Description • Small Fire – minimal damage from actual fire • Started in paper archive records in Warehouse on 2nd floor of facility • Loss of QA/QC and other records from fire • Some heat damage to roof and one structural column

8. Fire Description • Lots of water and smoke damage • Sprinkler and fire truck/fighting water ran down walls & columns to 1st floor clean room directly below Warehouse • Smoke traveled throughout facility and infiltrated the other two clean rooms

9. Response Actions • Initial Response (24 hours) • Shut down critical processes during evacuation • Emergency response & arson investigation • Garland Fire Department • Delayed entry into facility • Initial cleanup activities • Water removal • needs to be done rapidly to prevent mold growth • Smoke damage

10. Response Actions • Initial Response (con’t) • Assess equipment and product damage • Disposal of damaged product • What stage of production? • Assess damage to archive records • QA/QC data & other records • Wet paper deteriorates quickly requiring quick response • Restoration warranted? • Notify insurance company • Meet with restoration companies • Many of these activities occurred simultaneously which caused some problems later on

11. Response Actions • Mid-Term Response (until operation restart) • Production operations down 3 to 5 days • Repair structural damage to column and roof • Hire restoration contractor • Removal of water damaged records to off-site restoration • Clean up smoke damage – e.g., wipe everything • Gather data for insurance claim • More on this in “Lessons Learned” • Smoke damage • Assist arson investigation

12. Response Actions • Long-Term Response • File insurance claim & “negotiate” with insurance company • Business Continuity Planning • OK, we didn’t … but should have

13. Lessons Learned • Don’t have a fire – it’s a pain! • Insurance Claims (possibly a bigger pain) • Single point of contact and data repository • Knowledgeable about filing claims and documentation • Start collecting insurance claim data on day 1 • Difficult to track when simultaneous activities occurring within the first few days

14. Lessons Learned • Insurance Claims (con’t) • Documentation, documentation, documentation!! • Photo document damaged equipment / product • Inventory & Work in Process (WIP) records • Receipts / invoices

15. Lessons Learned • Insurance Claims (con’t) • Business interruption costs • Lost labor time • Lost revenue • Lost customers / contracts • Contactor costs e.g., facility repair, restoration contractor

16. Lessons Learned • Insurance Claims (con’t) • Damaged product cost • Very important – don’t throw away damaged/scrap product/equipment without assessing cost !!!! • May need to hold for insurance adjustor or photo document • Repairable? • If so, what is the cost? • Dispose? • What stage of manufacturing process? • Don’t get to claim full value - only to the point it was in the process

17. Lessons Learned • Insurance Claims (con’t) • Damaged equipment cost • Repairable? • If so, what is the cost? • Repair time - business interruption cost? • Replace? • What is the long term business interruption cost? • Other resources? • Salvage value?

18. Lessons Learned • Business Continuity Planning (BCP) • Have a restoration contractor on contract before emergency occurs • Plan ahead on what their role will be • May require retainer fees to assure prioritized response if regional disaster (e.g., hurricane, tornado, etc.) • Implement proactive mitigation strategies to protection valuable information • Paper and electronic records • This is not an exhaustive presentation on BCP – just a few ideas based on my experience

19. Lessons Learned • BCP (con’t) • Pre-Employment security & background checks • Including contractors • Facility Design • Identify critical operations, risk factors, and preventative measures • Clean rooms – critical risk: particulate from smoke – preventative measure: smoke migration mitigation • IT rooms – critical risk: water damage to electronics – preventative measure: water migration mitigation; non-water fire suppression systems

20. Lessons Learned • BCP (con’t) • Facility Design (con’t) • Smoke migration mitigation techniques • Separate HVAC for critical operations • Smoke Dampers - smoke detectors in ducts shut off or block HVAC unit • Fire suppression water migration mitigation techniques • Block gaps around floors, columns, etc.

21. Lessons Learned • BCP (con’t) • Identify long-lead high cost inventory • Multiple storage locations? • Just-in-time delivery • Organization and Housekeeping • Spent a lot of money cleaning up “junk” • Made restoration process more difficult • Which archive records should be restored vs. disposed? • Obsolete inventory – valuable for warranty work or scrap? • Obsolete equipment – valuable for repairing existing equipment or scrap?

22. Questions Discussion