Operating in crisis management mode

On two days five months apart in 2018, Brian and Donna Berryman, CERP, owners, Superior Equipment & Events, Houghton, Mich., and Frank and Lisa Thomas, owners, Malibu Party Rents, Malibu, Calif., experienced what no rental operator ever wants to face: the loss of their businesses due to natural disasters.

For the Berrymans, the fateful event occurred after a night of torrential rain. Donna, vice president, woke up on Father’s Day, June 17, to find the earthen dam about 500 ft. behind their rental store had given way and a small creek on their land had swollen to the point that 200 to 300 ft. of water was across the property, submerging part of the building, pushing equipment out onto the nearby highway and filling the business with water and mud, making it a total loss.

For the Thomases, disaster struck quickly at 9:01 a.m., Friday, Nov. 9. Their business of 23 years went up in flames during the massive Woolsey Wildfire that engulfed the town. A short time later, their home, which was 12 miles away, also was destroyed by the fire.

For advice on what to do after a disaster strikes read the August Safety Issue of Rental Management magazine.

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