3 Story Apartment Fire

Damages

A fire ripped through the attic of this 3 story building at this apartment community causing severe damage to the structure and shutting down 24 units in the entire building. We responded to the initial emergency service request immediately and began measures to stabilize and secure the structure and protect the residents from danger. All the building residents were relocated.

The reconstruction cost of this three-story apartment building fire came to $628,582.84.  The structure was originally built in 1979, and while only eight individual units suffered severe damage, another 16 units were shut down.  The immediate goal was to get 12 of those units back online as soon as possible and then rebuild the structure back to its pre-loss condition while ensuring compliance with current code standards.

Challenges and Solutions

Engineering was secured so the permits could be pulled and the environmental testing performed and NESHAP contacted. We began demolition, rerouted electrical lines to bring power to the unaffected units in the building. Rough carpentry including setting of the roof trusses and roof sheathing were performed so that we could dry the roof in. All damaged windows and exterior doors were replaced and stucco replaced so that the structure would be safe from the impending monsoons. 8 severely fire damaged units caused 24 units to become unlivable. All this work was completed in a total of 15 calendar days.

During this initial work the estimate that filled 105 pages was generated and negotiations with the Insurance Company began. Phase 2 then was able to begin with the permanent structure repairs. A shoot was utilized to facilitate material removal from the 2nd & 3rd stories.

Results

The balance of the units that were undamaged by the fire were returned to their pervious residents in short order providing for less impact on the community, improved resident retention and less expenses for the insurance company. The residents in adjacent buildings were pleased that the initial work had been performed so quickly so that they were not faced with staring at a burnt up building. Tremendous communication was necessary in order to work with the Insurance Company, Building Department, property Management Company and both affected and impacted residents.