I too lived the Jay scenario a few years ago at my Branch. Our fire was at 6:30am; I met the Fire Dept. with shampoo in my hair and clothes from the dirty clothes hamper. Although we had extensive smoke damage and no heat & toilets for several days, we were able to open the office the following day. (Did I mention we had auditors show up the following week?) Repair work was done after hours.
About two weeks into it one of my staff ended up in the ER. Turns out toxic mold developed from the water damage. We had to close the office for remediation. I had three hours notice to close up the office and prepare staff for a temporary move to our main office. It was literally a second disaster after the first. We couldn't script for a scenario like this, but we learned a lot from it.
Like Cornfed Turtle, you have to focus on critical staff and services. Also securing confidential data. Since files locks are easily broken into, I ended up boxing everything up and putting it into our vault. Customer communication was also important. Letters went out and signs were posted. As far as services,you have to determine which are essential from the customer's perspective. Safe Deposit Box access was our biggest challenge. We granted access by appointment, and everyone had to suit up in hazmat gear for the first couple of weeks. There are so many other things to conside: securing the facility, notifying your regulator, selecting vendors for repair work, dealing with fire investigators, the insurance company etc, mail & delivery services. The list could go on.
Last edited by BetsyS; 08/07/13 01:29 AM.
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