Dawson College Library: Inundation by rainwater

Summary

A frantic member of the college's janitorial staff telephones the director of the Dawson College library, Bea Prudent, early on a Monday morning in late September. Construction workers replacing the library's flat roof had suspended work for the weekend, anchoring plastic sheeting in place as a temporary cover. Late Sunday evening a violent rainstorm blew away the plastic sheeting, and substantial amounts of rainwater percolated into the building, wetting library materials on the third floor. After the first shock of the news passes, Bea remembers that there is a disaster response plan.

The problem

How should Bea proceed from this point?

What actions should be taken to salvage the affected materials?

What preparations can she make for the aftermath of the recovery and salvage activity?

What long-term lessons can she learn from this experience?

 

Answer:

How should Bea proceed from this point?

Invoking the disaster response plan, Bea immediately contacts the facilities manager and the emergency coordinator. She arranges to meet them at the library, where she instructs them to proceed with their assessments.

What actions should be taken to salvage the affected materials?

Bea supports the emergency coordinator's efforts, including bringing in the disaster action team to begin salvage efforts. Since the number of water-damaged books is small, they decide that air drying them in the prearranged drying area will probably be enough. Before and during the recovery work, Bea has photographs taken to document the cause and extent of the damage.

The Dawson College legal department will use the photographs and cost reports as evidence to try to recover costs from the building contractor.

What preparations can she make for the aftermath of the recovery and salvage activity?

The facilities manager takes immediate charge of work to secure the roof to prevent further rain damage, and works with the emergency coordinator to clean up the affected area and remove any standing water.

What long-term lessons can she learn from this experience?

Bea and the emergency coordinator decide to require that any structural work on the library building be thoroughly discussed before any work is started. That will give the library a chance to demand safeguards and take preventive action.

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