Dealing with disaster

Author: Michele Lawson

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Although R & F Construction general manager Trevor Walker says most of their clean-up work involves water (whether from floods, rains or a fire fighters’ hose), they’re ready for anything. Their job is to clean up the mess first, and then restore the property for use by its owner. The second-generation family business is close to celebrating its 50-year anniversary.

When a home disaster strikes, families can have enough on their hands just dealing with a devastated child whose favourite stuffed animal has become contaminated.
At the second-generation family business R & F Construction – Disaster Klean Up, experienced crews use proven processes and state-of-the-art equipment to make the process of dealing with fire, flood or wind-damage as easy as possible.
And using the new Estorta Cleaning System (exclusive to Disaster Klean Up members), even a plush toy that’s been dragged through toxic waste can be washed and restored safely to its young owner.
“It’s a win-win situation,” says general manager Trevor Walker, who also heads up the Barrie office. “It’s less expensive for the insurance companies, it’s a new revenue stream for us, and the home owner gets to keep their stuff.”
The specialty washing machine uses pressure to force the non-toxic cleaning solution through the material without damaging it, he explains. “It even works on leather, so goalie pads can go through this process.”
In lab tests, swabs have come back cleaner than when items were first purchased, Walker says. Regardless whether the items were contaminated with mould, sewage or soot, the system certifies them 100-per-cent free of bacteria afterward.
“Everything that goes through the system is 100-per-cent safe to go right back down the drain,” he says. “These (contaminated) items used to be just thrown in the landfill site.”
R & F Construction was established in 1961 in Orillia. Originally a home-based business, it soon demanded more space, and a shop was built next to owners Sharon and Jerry Rimkey’s Telford Line home.
Jerry had been in the commercial-cleaning business when a local insurance adjuster asked him to take on the task of cleaning up furnace blow-backs. Then he was asked to put a crew together to re-construct the damage.
“He got asked more and more and it became the main part of the company,” Walker recounts. “In the late ‘90s, they joined an organization called Disaster Klean Up Canada (DKC), an organization of long-standing companies in this industry that belong to, and own shares in, the DKC.”
Today, the couple has taken a step back while their sons Rich and David, both licenced carpenters, take on the leadership role. Walker, the sons’ first cousin, came on board two years ago.
“There has been a lot of growth over the last five years – from about 25 employees five years ago, to about 65 employees now,” Walker explains. “There has been a gradual change to the sons – they grew up working in the company and have been looking for growth.”
To accommodate this expansion, the company’s Orillia division is moving into a new 54,000 square-foot shop this month. Located in Orillia’s Forest Home development, it will have an ozone room designed to successfully remove most smells from most materials.
There is also a plan to bring in an ultrasonic cleaning tank that uses high-frequency sound waves to knock off the dirt (“like smoke off jewellery”, for example).
For sensitive paperwork that has sustained water damage – like the files in a doctors’ or lawyers’ office, for example; the company uses a specialized company that employs liquid nitrogen to flash freeze the paper, which removes all traces of the water. If the sheets are torn or dirty before the process, they will remain so, but they’ll be dry, promises Walker.
“We use a lot of new technology – like thermal-imaging cameras for finding moisture inside walls,” he says. “It lets us be less destructive of people’s lives. It lets us pinpoint the water in the walls.”
Working primarily with insurance claims (about 90 per cent), the growing team is largely recession-proof. Management invests in its staff to continually develop an expertise in the field. In addition to ongoing professional development provided for the licenced carpenters, skilled labour and trained technicians on staff, employees enjoy a full benefits package (including a fully covered counselling if required), and healthy work environment.
“We figure if they have a better home life, they’ll have a better work life as well,” says Walker.
Together, R & F Construction “touches, on average, about 20 jobs per day,” he adds, noting their full roster last year listed approximately 900 claims. “The goal is to be a $1 million company by 2010, but it looks like we may achieve that by 2009.
Claims can be anything from the results of an overflowed toilet to a full fire in the Simcoe County area – their territory also extends up to Huntsville and east to Beaverton and Keswick.
Thanks to the answering service Encore TeleSolutions, “all our phones are answered 24/7 by a live person,” he says. He realizes his team sees people at their worst – and he doesn’t want them to have to wait to get the clean-up started.
For more information, visit www.rfconstruction.com.