Some Lloydminster community members are expected to work in Jasper, B.C., for the foreseeable future, helping with the clean-up. That is according to Jim Mandeville, SVP of First Onsite, the nation's biggest disaster relief company.
Mandeville spoke about their challenges and the difficulties of residents returning to the tourist town.
“They will be helping homeowners and businesses recover; it's a lot of cleaning, removing damaged furniture, appliances, throwing away fridges and freezers,” said Mandeville. “Sometimes it's removing damaged furniture and appliances, then helping with whatever repairs are required to get those homeowners and businesses back to how they were before the fire.”
Mandeville says what they will face when they get there will vary depending on how the home was left. If your home was sealed up tight, it might be okay and good to go, provided it survived any exterior fire damage.
“A worst-case scenario is a bunch of windows got left open. And, you know, it's quite sooty in the whole house and needs to be professionally cleaned from the top down,” explained Mandeville. “Almost everyone is going to have to throw away their fridge in the freezer. Unfortunately, that stuff leaks out of there onto the floor, so sometimes we have flooring damage that can be pretty gross.”
If you ever need their services, Mandeville said you can either call your insurance company or contact them directly to start the process.
The members of our community who work for First Onsite will be staying outside of Jasper and are expected to be there for weeks or months.
Read more: Local fire crews continue work in Jasper
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