THE SITUATION
At 10:00am one morning last spring, a sprinkler head was broken in the first floor elevator lobby during work performed by a private contractor for a homeowner in a 52-unit, 7-story condo building in Minneapolis. Although the city fire department responded quickly and shut down the water to the fire protection system, water flooded the elevator pit, the fire alarm control panel, and common area walls within the vicinity. Because this building relies on a single elevator, fast action was needed.
FIRSTSERVICE RESIDENTIAL SOLUTION
A homeowner put a call into the FirstService Residential main office which was directed to the condo’s property management team. Immediately the assigned Property Manager dispatched an emergency team. Within 60 minutes, the mitigation contractor arrived; within 90 minutes, the fire alarm service vendor, sprinkler repair vendor, elevator service company, and Minneapolis city elevator inspector were on site. The Supervisory Property Manager immediately went to the building to coordinate and expedite repair efforts.
OUTCOMES
By 3:00pm the fire alarm control panel was completely gutted and replaced, the sprinkler head was repaired, the system was back online, and the damaged building materials were removed. Due to water damage, the elevator was taken out of service by the City of Minneapolis. Working with the elevator service team, FirstService Residential’s Supervisory Property Manager implemented a plan to have the elevator back in service within 24 hours.
FirstService Residential’s management team ensured that the Association Board President was kept informed by phone of the status of the damage, the repair needed, and timelines involved. Residents received emails throughout the entire process in order to help them plan accordingly without an elevator for the day. FirstService Residential leveraged strong vendor relationships with reliable service providers as well as a great relationship with the City of Minneapolis Inspections Department resulting in a quick emergency response leaving minimal amount of inconvenience to residents.