1 / 20

Trial By Fire

Discover the detailed account of a fire incident that took place at Boonton HS in March 2018. From initial response to property damage, insurance protocol, and crisis management, learn how the school community dealt with the aftermath. Delve into the actions taken, communication strategies employed, teamwork showcased, and innovative solutions implemented to ensure minimal disruption to students' education.

cjackson
Download Presentation

Trial By Fire

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Trial By Fire Boonton HS Fire, March 2018 Steven Gardberg, Business Administrator, Boonton Public Schools Lee Nestel, President, CBIZ Insurance Services

  2. March 7 / Nor’easter #2 of the winter 17-18 • At approximately 5:20 pm on Wed 3/7 the fire alarm went off in a boiler/electrical room at Boonton HS • BFD noticed smoke coming from top of the gymnasium windows (opposite side of the building) • Fire was found in a storage room / electrical contactor panel inside the boy’s locker room • The fire required ~300 gallons of water to extinguish

  3. Physical Damage to the Building • Physical damage was minimal and localized to one small area • Water damage to gymnasium floor in one section • Smoke traveled throughout the building, resulting in particulate damage • Our tenant (Craig HS) in our main wing, lower level, was also affected • Unrelated to the fire, our HS, JHS school (grades 1-8) and Admin building were w/o power until Saturday afternoon, March 10

  4. NO TIME TO LOSE!! • ASAP: Called insurance broker, remediation companies & County BA • Broker initiated a claim with insurance carrier … “extra expense” • Carrer assigned adjuster w/in 25 min • Subrogation w/in 24 hr because total would exceed $1 million • Emergency purchasing regulations • Adjuster, broker & remediation company on site w/in 24 hr • Remediation began w/in 72 hr of event -- guided by industrial hygienist

  5. Duties in the event of a Property Claim • Make (temporary) repairs to prevent further damage • Segregate damaged items • Do not discard damaged goods unless health and safety concerns; insurer has right to inspect; take pictues to document damage • Prepare inventory of damaged items • Categorize and document expenditures, including overtime. • “Extra Expense” - track expenditures separatly for costs above and beyond normal operating (parent communications, costs to relocate …) • Seek approval from adjuster for final repairs after emergency measures • Note: Advisable to have vendors agree to abide by adjuster’s approval process after emergency repairs return site to stable condition.

  6. In the wise words of Herbert Hoover . . . Wisdom consists not so much of knowing what to do in the ultimate as knowing what to do next.

  7. Crisis Mode • Blessing in disguise: Almost all schools in Morris county were closed 2-3 days due to the storm (snow, trees, power, etc.). • First 48 hours: Administration discussed options to either find another location for 620 HS students or a “work around” • Contacted County Superintendent to discuss a split day having Grades 9-12 and 1-8 run two separate 4-hour ½ days • Nearby district did something similar for 2 days due to a power outage • Article shared by County Office about Pineland Regional which ran a split schedule for months due to a roofing issue.

  8. Decision Made • Vacant schools to accommodate 620 students = 0 • Surrounding schools with adequate space, without substantial disruption to their programs = 0 • Split schedule at our Grade 1-8 building = 1 • Notified BOE & County DOE and never looked back • Administration met Friday, Saturday and Sunday (w/no power and thus, no lights) in JHS school to implement plan

  9. Communication & Feedback • Notified community of the plan by social media and SIS notifications • Feedback was instantaneous, overwhelmingly critical (predominantly on social media) • Best adjective to describe it - excoriated • Each building and the district have Facebook pages that allow comments (and boy did they comment) • Read through the vitriol to look for the patterns and legitimate concerns • Compiled a list with administrative team and prioritized needs

  10. Teamwork • Communicated non-stop for 2 days with district administrative team: Supervisor of C&I, Business Administrator, HS Principal, VP’s, Curriculum Supervisors, AD, Grade 1-5 and 6-8 Principals of JHS, B&G Supervisor and Special Ed Director • Conferred with Mayor, Police Chief, DPW and related municipal offices as we needed all hands on deck and full cooperation • Daily use of social media and SIS notification to communicate to the school community

  11. Split Schedule and Resulting Issues • Grade 9-12 attended classes, 7:15 - 11:15 am, using a modified 4 one-hour block rotating schedule. • Breakfast served before school. • Lunch available upon dismissal across the street. POS terminal set up. • Grade 1-8 attended classes 11:45 am - 4:20 pm, with lunch served • Before-Care implemented for grades Pk-5 (School Street) and grades 6-8 (Boonton Rec building) • Buses obtained to transport children to 1-8 school

  12. Before Care for Working Parents • In response to parents’ concerns, developed a 4 hour “before care” for Grade 1-8 students starting school at 11:30 am • SIS notification to sign up: XYZ students, or XY%, participated • PK-2 school’s multipurpose room and Town Recreation Building • Paid staff contractual hourly rate • Provided busing to John Hill School for start of school day • Purchased games and refreshments for students • All “extra expenses” were covered by insurance

  13. Length of School Day and Contract • Split schedule started & ended outside of negotiated working day • Mon 3/12: Closed schools. held “voluntary” staff meeting at JHS • Asked the staff for help, and acknowledged it was outside their contract • Answered every staff concern funneled through the BEA President • Was emailed over the preceding weekend at “voluntary” meeting • No grievances filed

  14. The first week’s timeline • Wednesday 3/7 - fire • Thursday 3/8 - unable to drive to district; phone calls and emails to BOE and administrators • Friday 3/9 - first arrived to district to see damage and meet with insurance personnel • Saturday/Sunday - administrative team onsite to develop schedule, inventory needed supplies, assign rooms and ascertain seating needs for HS student in 1-8 school • Monday 3/12 - CLosed schools. Had regularly scheduled BOE meeting attended by ~200 community members. ~2 hour presentation using no Powerpoint, written notes or script • Tuesday 3/13 - first day of school using split-schedule. Almost 100% attendance of both staff and students.

  15. Down to Business • $2.3 million • Cash flow & Insurance • Board resolutions for emergency contracts • Accounting: Auditor, County BA • Time sheets

  16. Back to School • Expedite to get education back to normal • Objective, third parties set the bar for health & safety • Subrogation, re-insurance – allow subrogation engineers access as soon as possible while minimizing disruption to remediation • Extra expenses for goods & services otherwise not needed • Building re-occupied on Tue 3/27, just 2 weeks after the fire -- easily could have been 3-4 weeks • Gym Restoration complete on 9/1

  17. Lesson Learned / Paying it Forward • Use social media to “push” your messages out - avoid getting hung up reading the responses and other “expert” opinions • Use your existing notification system for official district communications • People are more likely to read text messages than answer their phones • Send out daily updates and don’t let ‘fiction fester into fact’ • Cellular hot spots are critical to have on hand • Document EVERYTHING!! (spreadsheet on Team Drive); facilitates insurance settlement • Cohesiveness of your administrative team is critical as well as relationship with district staff

  18. Thank You! Steven GardbergBusiness Administrator, Boonton973.335.9700 x8008steven.gardberg@boontonschools.org Lee NestelPresident, CBIZ Insurance Services908.738.2010lnestel@cbizcentric.com

More Related