Disaster Is Good Business

The News-Press:

Flooding in Iowa, tornadoes in Southwest Florida, the Gulf Coast’s six-month hurricane season:

All generate jobs for disaster cleanup businesses, but so do many smaller misfortunes.

“People will say ‘I’ll bet you’re rooting for a storm,” said Greg Frith, business development manager for Fort Myers-based FireService Disaster Kleenup.

“I tell them, ‘No. We know the pain and suffering a storm causes.’ I’d rather take care of your broken toilet.”

Or a church’s leaking ceiling.

On a Friday evening in mid-April, a fire sprinkler supply line burst in the ceiling at King’s Way Christian Center in Cape Coral, directly above the speaker’s platform.

Dan Lumadue, church pastor, praised the city’s fire department for quickly cutting off the water supply – and FireService for drying out the building with no interruption of worship services later that weekend.

“There was more (damage) than we could take care of,” Lumadue said. “We didn’t have the training or equipment to do it.”

Nationally, an array of businesses derives some income from home and business disaster mitigation, including carpet cleaners, dry cleaners, computer consultants and general contractors in construction. Major players include Disaster Kleenup International, ServiceMaster Clean and Servpro Industries, all of which have local affiliates or franchisees.

Southwest Florida has more than a dozen firms specializing in making homes and businesses whole following such maladies as fire, flooding, mold and more.

It’s about to get another. Read more.