Balfour Beatty Communities’ determined approach to natural disasters gets residents back in their homes quickly.

When you’re not certain what to be prepared for, it’s good to be prepared for anything. That was Balfour Beatty Communities’ (BBC) approach in anticipation of and response to Hurricane Irma’s impact on its coastal military and conventional housing communities.

“Preparing for a major storm response is intense,” BBC Vice President Paula Cook says. “We started holding conference phone calls the day after Labor Day when we first heard of the storm, a week before it hit. Since we didn’t know its path, we included representatives from all our East Coast communities, speaking with them several times a day.

“We began coordinating communication and evacuation plans while selecting members from sister properties for our ‘STRIKE teams,’ our tag name for BBC’s first responders, to provide support immediately afterward. Having to evacuate is traumatic for residents. We recruited the best of the best from around the country. Everyone worked with us to clear those individuals’ schedules and get our residents evacuated and ultimately back home.”

BBC had 18 communities affected, the hardest hit being at NAS Key West, also the most geographically isolated of the company’s portfolio. BBC President Chris Williams’ directive was clear. “Don’t cut corners,” he said. “Do the right thing, whatever that may be, to get residents back in their homes, but do it smart, efficiently and be safe. I want every employee able to get back home to their families.”

Early reports were alarming. “One entity reported a two-foot storm surge, while another reported it at eight feet,” Project Director Jeff Green says. “We couldn’t know, which led us to coordinate a series of consecutive STRIKE teams to handle all situations, as needed.”

Before the first wave of employees set foot on the base, BBC Vice President Ed Lopes flew to Jacksonville to set up the company’s emergency operations center.

“My goal was to orchestrate damage assessment, coordinate rebuilding efforts and provide continuous communications to our Navy partner of our efforts. Regular updates were communicated by Facebook and text messages to residents. We assured them we would get them back quickly, letting them know vacant units were available if needed. It was all hands-on-deck approach.”

Getting boots on the ground at NAS Key West was challenging.

“Because the roads and airlines were closed, we needed special permission to access the island and community,” Sean Kent, BBC SVP of Construction and Renovations, says. “There was no power, potable water and food or cell service. We were informed we could have access, if we provided our own food, water and power supply.”

Green, along with Director of Construction Operations, Dave Cloutier, immediately traveled to Key West.

“We each had a backpack filled with MREs (meals ready-to-eat) and water,” Green says. “We got a ride from the fire department to our community and witnessed the destruction. Community Manager Arlen Dieguez likened it to a war zone.”

After performing an initial drive-by assessment of the entire community, they used the Wi-Fi at a nearby Publix to prepare for the first STRIKE team’s arrival, which was en route from Rhode Island with two recreational vehicles and two trailers filled with construction materials, food, water and gasoline.

Armed with iPads and inspection apps, the group assessed the overall grounds with downed live power lines and trees, as well as debris everywhere.

“Two teams focused on roofing and two teams focused on reconstruction,” Kent says.

Within 48 hours, all damaged roofs were covered with the tarp. BBC believes its recent installation of metal roofing on numerous homes kept roof damage to a minimum. In less than a week, the team assessed 733 homes.

BBC set to work immediately, tearing out the old drywall and replacing floors, ceilings and more to make homes whole again. As the teams worked, Lopes reported their progress daily to Naval and Coast Guard Commanders.

“We shared what we did, what we didn’t get to and how we were going to move forward,” he says.

BBC’s Senior Vice President of Risk Management, Steve Curtis, knew the team would need industrial-sized dehumidifiers, Dumpsters and air blowers, along with other hard-to-find resources given recent natural disasters in Texas and Florida.

“We were mindful of limited resources and the challenges in getting them here,” he says.

Not only was BBC dealing with limited resources, but with limited food and water and temperatures above 95 degrees.

“Early conditions were primitive,” Curtis says. “I had to take one employee to the FEMA tent for fluids. Nobody complained. We all knew our goal was to get families home.”

BBC’s strong relationships with vendors proved invaluable. “It would have been far easier for local workers to have gone elsewhere, says BBC Executive Vice President, Terri Edelman. I was amazed at how quickly we had roofers and landscapers on the ground.” Although Dumpsters were difficult to obtain, BBC’s vendors went out of the way to get them. “Our vendors didn’t want to let us or our residents down.”

Dieguez, whose home sustained damage, didn’t hesitate to leave her two children with her parents to be part of the second STRIKE team.

“I knew what I had to do for our residents,” she says. “One of our staff members who lost everything still came to work.”

One thing for which Senior Vice President, Military Operations, Anne-Marie Niklaus, is most proud of is that those military residents arrived home to $1,500 insurance checks.

“We worked with our insurance company to process the standard deduction, have the checks ready and an agent on the ground when residents returned home. Our goal was to get residents’ lives back to normal as soon as possible and we felt that helping them replace perishable items was an important start,” she notes.

Five STRIKE teams later, with the most urgent work completed, residents began arriving home almost two weeks after the mandatory evacuation. They were greeted by staff members eager to help. “Because we walked every home, we knew who had damages and what help they needed,” Curtis says. “They didn’t have to reach out to us; we reached out to them.”

Beyond the gratitude expressed by various members of the Navy as well as community residents, BBC immediately signed new leases thanks to its efforts.

“It was hairy,” Williams notes, “but I am incredibly proud of our team. “Ours is not a Mother-may-I” organization. Employees know our philosophy is to always do the right thing and that’s exactly what they did. It was a team effort unlike any I’ve ever experienced.”

Be prepared. Train staff for emergencies.

• BBC created a STEP Program (Strike Team Elite Program) which trains volunteers to become Natural Disaster Recovery First Responders
• First responders are trained to restore a community and help residents get their lives back to normal after a natural disaster.
• Volunteers are from neighboring BBC communities and have special skills in HVAC, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, customer service, IT, communications and management systems.

Constant communication.

• Utilize an automated notification system that provides emergency and routine messaging via voicemail, text and emails to residents.
• Keep resident contact information up to date.
• Keep the communications channel open and constant.

Think ahead. Manage resident needs.

• Contact vendors (roofers, trash haulers, water extraction firms and landscapers) before the storm and get their commitment to be a part of your first responder team.
• Establish information areas with Q&As available.
• Supply materials they may need: Trash bags, bleach, water, etc.