From Crisis to Recovery: How BMS CAT Helps After a Fire

Welcome back to another episode. I'm your host, Martha. And today, we are having a discussion with one of our own who was actually boots on the ground in the LA fires. Today, we are going to discuss how we as a company and how you can prepare for such an event as an LA fire or just a fire in general. Cole will get into discussions about his experience on the ground and how we can provide a preparedness for you and your property. Good morning, Cole. Thank you for joining us back at BMS Restoration. How are you today? How are you doing? Good, Martha. Good to see you too. Good. Thanks. Thanks. So I know that we have had some time in LA, and we'd love to talk to you about it, and we'd love to discuss about your experience in LA. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I'd love to do it. So, my name is Cole Colson, vice president of sales for BMS CAT. And, I tell you, you see a lot of things on TV, but until you're at at, you know, ground zero there, at ground level with a lot of the folks that were impacted from the fires, it's, it's totally a different, feeling overall, and it's just amazing to see the amount of devastation that took place there, in the Palisades area as well as Malibu, and Altadena. It's kinda three areas there. But, it was pretty incredible just to see the amount of homes that were damaged. You know, you've got a lot of chimneys that are still standing and things like that, and then you'll have an area where there's homes that weren't impacted, fortunately, for those folks. Yeah. Yeah. Could you tell me, what it was like when you arrived on the ground? Was it, was it a little chaotic? Was it the calm after the storm, or was it kind of still in between those kind of catastrophe? Yeah. I think it was a little bit in between. You know, a lot of residents were still trying to get into their homes. So that was that was a frustrating, part for them as well as us trying to get in and help customers who who initially needed our services, especially for those homes that weren't impacted. A lot of the streets were closed off. So getting around was pretty tough, especially, with the hills and whatnot. You have to deal with with also, rain events that are coming in. So as the weather changed, we had to be a little bit careful with that, and we can talk more about that. But, yeah, a little chaotic on that end of it. Also, just, you know, having to wear a mask and things like that with the contaminants Yes. In the air from fire with the wind blowing. I know that you had guys on the ground as well with you. How did it feel to kind of walk that atmosphere with them? Were they able to understand the the temperament of the fires and and customers around? Yeah. You are. You know what? Yeah. I think you really don't really understand, at first, unless you're a resident in those areas that have been impacted. But once we got to talk to homeowners and understood what their needs were, I think we were able to to help them feel a little bit better about the process and how the MS CAT and the restoration side of things, can impact them and support them and help them get back to the normal everyday lives. But, yeah, it was was, really interesting going into a lot of these areas, just due to the amount of devastation for a lot of the homes that were burnt down. And like I said, when you're on-site, you see it in person, a little different than the media and what, came across from that and, hits home a little differently. But I'll tell you, it's always rewarding to us as a company because we are there to help folks out, and help them, get their lives back to to pre loss condition. So, Cole, I I I wanna because I know that you were on the ground with the guys and experienced it with them. Do you know what it would be like for these customers and just the homeowners in the first few days and how they're responding to, you know, sometimes so many people asking if they're okay, restoration companies asking if they need assistance. Do you do you see that that was an emotional state for them or was it, just something that they knew what they were going to expect? Yeah. You know, it's an interesting question. I think a lot of these residents, had been, been approached by lots of folks. So I think it can be frustrating at times. But I'll tell you, I felt like overall they were very resilient and supportive of what we were trying to do as first responders to get out there and help them recover and help their entire city recover. And, you know, some folks, it it is it's a lot to take on initially, but, once we were able to explain what we're there to do and how we can help them, they were very welcoming. And we were very welcomed, to go in and start helping support, with lots of different services that we offer, to help clean their homes, to help deodorize, and then also, clean content, soft goods, things like that. Yeah. Could you tell me, is there anything while you were on the ground with, with them, is there anything that stood out to you that would be something that you could say wow to or or just something that stood out? Yeah. I tell you, it was pretty emotional to see some folks that just got back into these areas, and they had not seen their home yet in the devastation. And so a lot of folks evacuated and got out of the areas and, waited till streets were open, which in some areas and and, some of different, subdivisions or different parts of the of the of the Palisades, they weren't able to get back in there for roughly two weeks or so. So, you know, in the aftermath, they're coming in and seeing it for the first time, and I just, you know, yeah, kinda felt that with them a little bit, but still, just being able to to understand what they were going through and seeing a home that maybe they lived in all their life. Maybe they inherited that home. Maybe they lived there for a year, thirty years or plus. And, to see it burnt to the ground, you know, it's just kind of, it's tough to see. And so, you know, it was tough to adjust to a little bit there. But, again, knowing knowing that we can help those homeowners is I think, you know, is what really was, nice to see, and and I think they, they appreciate it as well. Do you feel like there was a part of you that experienced it with the customer that you interacted with, Like, having to or having the conversation with them, you've kinda experienced the, emotion that they were experiencing at the moment? Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, some of the homes we went into, they had heavy soot inside of it. You know? You had high winds that were blowing a lot of soot and ash into these homes. And so to walk into these homes for the first time and experience it with the homeowners, was really tough. You know, a lot of people with the they have the the heavy soot and smell, of fire in their homes. Sometimes it was tougher to smell inside than being in the outside air. But, to see that and the devastation in some of the homes where we're doing a lot of the construction and repairs where some of the fire had gotten up on the back side of the homes or or on roofs and things like that, it's pretty, devastating from that end. But those were some ahas and and really wows us experiencing kinda for the first time for them to see that damage. And, that was pretty emotional. Yeah. I can only imagine, Cole. I can only imagine. I, you know, we're thankful to be safe here in Texas, but we we dip our hearts go out to California for sure. Is there anything that you could give us or give customers who are watching, like, the first steps to the recovery process and what they can do in regards to, safety first and then the recovery? Yeah. I think some things to be aware of, and I think a lot of the residents do know this. I think that and I think, California and specifically in these areas have done a good job educating what contaminants could be in the air still. The winds tend to pick up, you know, as the day goes on and some days more than not in others, but there's lots of of contaminants in the air. You think about everything that burned from from wood to metal to plastic to to batteries, things like that. So I think knowing what's there, making sure you're protecting yourselves, from the respiratory side, I think, is important. So having, that extra protection for a mask is first and foremost. Secondly, I think there was a lot of confusion over some different plans, that were for coverage for Southern California. You got insurance companies trying to figure that out in such a mass area that was impacted. Yeah. And so, so that's taken a little while, so there's frustrations there. So you just have to be patient and make sure that they're filing claims that they have insurance. California Fair Plan is another source for a lot of folks at insurance too. That's kind of new, as of in the last year. So a lot of folks were trying to understand what was gonna be covered or whatnot. So I think being patient and really understanding what's the coverage is gonna be specifically and how, those restoration companies and those out there, first responders can help, in those times is is is really important, because there is a lot of good insurance coverage that will help a lot of folks get back to the better than pre loss condition. With that safety and the initial damage and looking at everything, is there anything that our customers can do that we can, like, in the steps for damage recovery, like documenting, documents or bringing along documents for themselves, taking pictures of documents? Is there anything that you would say is very important in that process? Yeah. Absolutely. I'd definitely take lots of pictures. You know? It'd be good to have good pictures of current state, whether you got heavy soot, damage to your home, or property. That includes the entire property. That includes everything out front from really curb to back lot. I would take pictures of all all four corners. We usually call that a, b, and c sides of homes. I would do that. I also would take any valuables out. You know, we mentioned that earlier. Take those valuables with you and store those in a safe place as well, from that end of it. And then, I think a lot of these homes, I felt like the residents had a lot of good coverage, and everybody was kinda looking out for each other, which was great to see, from that end as well. But, yeah, really taking good and documenting a lot of the coverage and, all their contents, clothing that could be anywhere from, you know, furnitures to to fixtures they have hanging, things like that. But, yeah, lots of pictures of what's currently been impacted, so that you can share that with, insurance if you have it and or how you plan to mitigate that. What are the common mistakes that you would see with that property owners make with in the first couple of days of recovery? It's new to a lot of people. So I don't know if there are mistakes, but some things that that were opportunities for folks, to be aware of, first and foremost, is making sure they get valuables out of their homes. That keeps eluding, theft, things like that from taking place. So first and foremost, medication, any type of valuable jewelry, guns, things like that. You wanna get those, out if you can. And I think a lot of folks had time to do that. Specifically, they were getting their cars and leaving, so you can grab those key necessities. So that was important. Also understanding your coverage from the insurance side of things and understanding that it's just knowing that it's gonna take time. I think a lot of folks were expecting to be a quicker recovery process. And due to the amount of damage there, it's just taking a little bit of time to to do that, and then really understanding, some of the hazards that could be out there, when they're maybe walking in their areas. I saw some residents were walking in their homes that were burned down. You just never know what you might step on or what you might be Yes. From a safety standpoint. You might wanna wait on doing that till you have some clearance there or some type of professional to help you through that. Then obviously, wearing the, personal protective equipment such as the mask. Some folks have even heavier masks on just to make sure that, you know, you got healthy clean air that you're breathing in, when you're digging around in those con in there too. And or going in your home if it if you're fortunate, to have that still standing, going into those homes to to see and and grab maybe personal items. But those are just a couple things that come to mind. Yeah. That no. That's great, Cole. Thank you. Because, you know, in in moments like that, a lot of, homeowners don't think of those things first off. They think of where's my stuff? Did it all get burned? You know, what can I salvage? And you're absolutely right. I think on a safety perspective, you know, make sure you're looking at your property, make sure there's no fires going on that are underneath or, you know, to cover your purse yourself with protection for air pollutants. That is that is just wonderful, Cole. I really appreciate that. Are there any preparations that a homeowner can provide themselves to prep their home in regards to, a fire may be coming or in their backyard? And now we can't always, you know, say that our house is not gonna burn, but is there something that they can do, like, as far as taking pictures, maybe watering their home, or something in that regards that can protect their home from from a fire? Yeah. It's interesting you bring it up. I I think absolutely. We're talking about post loss pictures. It would be great to have pre loss pictures so that when you are sharing, the damage with your insurance company, you have the ability to show, hey. This is pre loss versus post, damage on it. So I think that's a great part. So as far as prep goes, having maybe pictures because, you know, lots of folks do improvements to their homes, but they don't notify insurance. So I think that's a great, great ad, to take pictures before. Also have a good evacuation plan. You know? I think that's important. You know? Specifically, how you go and and leave your neighborhood every day may not be the best route to go, just due to to traffic and be thinking about what would be the best way to lead through there. And then I think valuables, things that you have. You know, what are things that are key necessities for you? If something in a panic situation or quickly you've gotta make a last minute decision, you gotta get and go. So what are those things that you need? Have a list of that and have those readily available. And then, you know, really not wait until last minute. You know? I think some folks, you know, it's it's tough because you do wanna protect your home. You wanna be there. And I think if you can, you know, as a preplanning, think about, hey. If it gets to this type of situation and not on my back porch or or so forth, how do I put my family in a better situation for an evacuation in a timely manner so that I can get them out of there safely? So, again, these are just preplanning, ideas, as we've talked to different folks too. And then cars. You know, cars are important. We saw lots of cars that were just left there, and they were burned, really to the metal and to the just sitting on the ground. So I think the importance of that and having, you know, what what's important for a vehicle for your family, as far as, maybe priority. If you got enough people to drive, that's different. If you're in one going out of there, if you're in a situation maybe that pops up on you unexpectedly that, you know, you've got that. But, again, just some ideas there. I think the extreme is there are also companies now that provide foam spray, and those come in they'll they'll spray your entire home with foam. We saw some homes that were actually protected by some of these sealants that they're putting on. There's probably cost associated with that. Sure. But, I think, you know, based on a lot of the homes and and these nice properties that people have done such a great job maintaining that maybe work to spend for that. I can only imagine, as you were stating, that having a car and prepping and having this preparation, that having an access out, the exit plan, because we did notice that there was a lot of people who got stuck in those, wildfires and on those streets. And I can imagine that in the chaos, most people don't think about how to get out and it's always great, like you said, to prepare for that escape route, in a case of a fire. Because it can be chaotic in times where that plan may not work. So it's always to have it's good to have those plans in place so you have an idea of what you should be doing. Absolutely. Yeah. You don't think about it until it happens. Sometimes, you know, it's not or it's not gonna happen to me. And it it does happen. I mean, who would have thought? You know? It's never had a fire there, and they lived for thirty, forty years. And and, unfortunately, you know, one came through and and caught us off guard a little bit with that down there. But, yeah. So, anyway, yeah, you never know. So I think having that that plan, evacuation plan would be definitely beneficial preplan ahead along with those other things we talked through. Do you say that our customers and property owners should have a contact list in preparation as well in order to do a kind of checklist of who they need to call in regards to a fire loss in their home? Yeah. I think that'd be great. Including that list will be family ride, but also your insurance company, any key contractors you might currently use for your home that can help with different things, and then services. That's another thing. You know, you've got a lot of these services that are set up. And, talking to one customer in particular, I remember reflecting of conversations about them needing to turn off some different things, electric bills to some of the utilities, and then also some subscriptions they had, to the home as well. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Is there any advice that you have or or would love to give to businesses and homeowners, in preparation and, post pre and post, for a situation as far as a fire or a loss as big as, the LA fires? I think it'd be good to have, a lot of the things that we discussed in place. I think you need to make sure that you got good insurance coverage if that's what you're wanting to whatever extent that might be, based on these. And just you never know when you think you don't need it, but then you you do need it, especially when you've got, you know, your lifetime or your savings and everything invested in that, and that's kinda what you're planning on, retiring on. And so that's I think that's important. I think it's really to educate yourself too about the restoration side of things, companies, and what they do. There's a lot of great companies out there, that wanna do and help people. And that we're one of them. Right? But if you educate yourself on what what these companies can actually do to come in and help, secure your home, provide emergency services, which would be, securing, you know, obviously, any broken windows, any holes and roofs can be tarped up, but really securing the structure, and providing a lockbox in some instances if front doors were kicked open for, you know, checking, homes and whatnot. And then also contents, getting the valuables out, and then also the cleaning side of things. Whenever you got soot and ash in there, the more, you know, impermeable type items, it'll continue to smell and a lot you've gotta remove the soot and ash or mainly the soot. You've gotta remove that or you'll continue to get that smell in your home to kinda break that down. And, you gotta remove that. So your your entire structure's gotta be clean. So on location cleaning is important, contents that maybe have heavy soot on them too, even light soot. And there's ways you can tell with that soot with the chem we we use what's it called the chem sponge, and you those surfaces to see where and you have the heavy soot or whatnot. But, I think it's extremely important to, to know that, know those things. And then also just, like we talked about, having a good, you know, protective equipment, for that end of it, what your escape plan is, and, and you communicate to family and and then also patients. You know, it's gonna take a little bit of time to get back in there. And I think I've seen a lot of these, homeowners. It's been very, it's frustrating. You know? They've called insurance, and they're not coming out for a while. But due to the size of the event, it's just taking a little bit of time, for those but when they do, they're gonna be there for that, and then, restoration companies like BMS Cat will be there as well. That's what we're here for. Right, Cole? We're here for that. Just that and and to take care of our customers. I want to ask you, what are the services that BMS provides for a situation as a fire in a home that they they will have have some kind of understanding of what kind of programs or resources we have as a company for them? Absolutely. Well, there's two situations here. We've got homes that are burnt down and that homes are still standing. On the homes that are burnt down, BMS can come in, and we can obviously help, clean the debris up and, clean off pads. We can even, you know, clean off to the concrete slab if folks are planning to to rebuild and or we can remove it and clear the lot as well. So that's the services on that side of things. And then if there's contents that are salvageable, we can also clean and restore those. It's amazing what we can do, with things that have had fire, damage to them. So that would be that. The the standing homes initially is really assessing the outside of the home and seeing if there's any damage to it around broken windows or any tarp up to prevent any more damage from happening. And a lot of people don't understand that in their policy, there's there's language that talks about how you need to do in good faith or in good favor not to to to eliminate any more damage from happening to your home. And I know in situations like this, it may seem like, well, there's already so much damage. What else can I do? Well, there is a way to go in and, to to continue to kinda secure the structure around board ups, tarp your roof to you know, that'll eliminate any more water from getting inside and creating more damage. So those things are important. So we do provide the board up and tarp up services. And then as you get into the home, we also do the deodorization. So we've got equipment that'll make it smell better. We can do the on location cleaning. We can clean contents, which would be a lot of the furniture we talked about to fixtures, things like that. And then there's also what's called soft goods or textiles. That would be your clothes. So got closets that are open, and they've got a lot of, ash and things like that in there too or soot. We can clean those. They gotta be cleaned professionally. It's not something you can take down your local cleaners or use at a neighbor's home in their washer and dryer. Those things have to be professionally cleaned. And if you have insurance, it does cover that. And then, we pack those things out, and then we can also go into the full structure clean. And then while we have your contents packed out, we've cleaned them and stored them. We go in and do the reconstruction side. So if there's any reconstruction that needs to be provided, we'll we'll produce that work and do the build back, so to speak. And then we'll also pack anything back in once we've cleaned it. Yeah. Full turnkey restoration. Yeah. And, again, a lot of people are like, hey. They don't realize it, but they say, does my insurance cover that? It absolutely does. And then folks that don't have insurance, we work with them. And we can work with them on a on a kind of on a a different priority or phase basis based on the amount of damage they have so that it's equitable and it makes sense to what they're wanting to do to mitigate their home. Yeah. Well, Cole, it's great that you say that because and I'm I'm so thankful that you explained it because I think that when people think of restoration, they think of water mitigation and not so much all of the the explanatory things that you just mentioned that, you know, we do contents, we do, back end pack end contents, we restore your furniture, your clothes, and and I think a lot of that, they don't think of it they just think of a restoration company. So that we come in and we clean out and then that's it. But we we definitely, I'm so thankful that you explained it that way because now we have that information out there so they know that they can feel comfortable with picking BMS as a restoration company to take care of their property. But I wanna ask a great question because I know that you were on the ground for a couple of weeks, And I know that there were so many emotions going on with you and your crew and your guys and trying to just cope with all of the emotions. Would you say is there any big takeaway from those weeks on the ground that you would take back and and it helps you improve as, BMS as a restoration company going forward? I think it's important to understand that homeowners are trying to file claims and do things like that. They really they wanna get in and see their homes as well and to really give them time to, to understand what happened, to reflect, get the support they needed, and kinda get a game plan together, so that they can educate themselves a little bit too around, hey. Okay. I'm gonna need a restoration company or I'm not and how they play into that. So I think that's I think that's a big takeaway for us is really give them that opportunity, to understand, you know, what just happened, because a lot of companies will rush right in there real quick. And these you got a lot going on if you've been impacted personally. And so I think that's always something, and we're we're aware of that as a company, but I think it's it's a good reflect. I think we learned too that we we really have the capability and capacity to help these folks out. And once we get in there and show them, you know, what our services are and we start producing work and and working on different homes, we've had lots of neighbors see that work as well. And then so you have this kind of a a rose bush effect of more and more folks wanting to use our services Yeah. A kind of a domino effect there. And so that's that's been impactful too. So knowing that we can get out there and help people out and know that we can help their friends, their neighbors, their families, things like that, from that end of it. And, so I think those are a couple things on a large scale. Other than that, we really, were there to help folks in their time of need, and it was really, great to see the looks on a lot of folks' faces in regards to what we could do and how they perceive that. So it just reminds us again the great services that we offer and the heritage of our company and how we're able to go out there and help people in a time of need and get them back to to to a normal life, you know, to pre better than pre loss condition in a lot of circumstances and, so they can go live their lives. I think our quote at one point was the calm in the storm. Yes. So I I love that because as we go forward as a company and as we help customers, I think that they truly appreciate the work that we put into their home because now they can go back and actually go back and start living again and feel comfortable doing it with enjoyment as well. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, when you're vetting out those companies, look at folks that have been in business for this amount of time they have. Look at the reviews. You'll learn a lot from these restoration companies that can truly go out and help you. And, again, I'll say this. I think there's a lot of great folks in that area, that are really trying to help a lot of these residents and business owners get back to, their normal everyday lives and business. And, so that's what's exciting about it too. There's a lot of optimism and a lot of growth for that, for us to go and help and kinda win together and and to keep moving on, you know, and, mitigate, what would happen just recently. As BMS comes in and we prepare and we help, I think we're also learning along the way things that we can improve as a company as well. And with that, I I wanna say it's beautiful how our community, BMS, has gone into California's community and added some a little bit of value and a little bit of calm in their storm. It takes a lot for a company to go out and take in their emotions and, help them through that process. Is there anything in our conversation that you would love to say or provide to our listeners, Well, you know, you'd like to say you know until it happens to you there. You know, Well, you know, you'd like to say you know until it happens to you there. You know? So I'm pretty respectful of that end of it. But having the opportunity to work with a lot of the a lot of the, residential homeowners and business owners that were impacted in the Southern Cali California area. Just really a great group of people, again, to work with and support. It's very, tough what what happened with the wildfires that went through, and understanding that's important. Also think that, something that's really, really good to learn is, you know, if you go to to BMS Cat dot com or that restoration company of your choice, go look at the service that they offer, kinda look at the heritage, and then reviews and things like that. I think you'll see a lot of a lot of positive things with these companies that can come out there. They're I know we've had you'll see them out there. They're on the street, some of them, and some of them have different, trailers posted up. Some of them have, tents and things like that, but they're truly gonna help the community and and and and a time of need and, take the time to really, you know, sit through that and understand what they can do, the services that they can offer, and the turnkey services. Right? And it's not to deal with one contractor that can deliver turnkey services. So I think that's something to look at, so that you're dealing with one point of contact through mitigation and the reconstruction process. That's right. That's right. And and, you know, more people, the more chaos it creates. And having one company that can do it all is definitely something that I think that most homeowners look forward to and look for in a process and in case of a fire or even just a catastrophe on their home or business. Thank you so much, Cole. This was a beautiful conversation. I really appreciate you coming back and having this conversation with us here. And have a beautiful day. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks, Martha. I appreciate y'all having me as well.