Impact Disaster Services branches out

The original company is Impact Disaster Services, based in West Manchester Township, York County. Last year he launched Impact Energy Services, and later this year he hopes to introduce Impact Roofing.

The common thread is helping clients with structural challenges, whether they involve recovering from a fire, saving energy or fixing roofs and gutters.

We deal a lot with fire damage, and a lot of that involves roof damage, Rose said. In the past weve used subcontractors for roofing work, but were starting to do so many roofs that we decided to bring this in-house.

Its not the only work Rose has brought in-house since starting the company in 2013 in his basement with one vehicle and a single employee. He had worked for other restoration companies before venturing out on his own.

It gave me the confidence and experience to start my own business, he said.

One project led to another, and today Impact Disaster Services has 2 employees and 21 vehicles serving residential and commercial clients throughout southcentral Pennsylvania, as well as in Delaware and Maryland.

In-house services include a cleaning room where smoke-damaged items from a home or business including furniture, furnishings and office files can be cleaned and restored. When Impact Disaster was new, it subcontracted the work to a specialist. In addition, Impact purchased powerful fans to dry out a water-damaged homes, restaurants and other commercial/industrial spaces instead of just renting them.

The name Impact reflects the companys commitment to impacting customers lives in a positive way at a time that can be very stressful, Rose said. For home and business owners that means working with insurance companies to ensure a property is repaired in a timely manner, and that the proper permits are in place. For insurance companies that means documenting a loss, securing and protecting damaged areas, and submitting fair and timely estimates.

As weve grown and handled more and more fire damage claims, weve become more efficient at handling the claims and making the rebuilding process easier for the property owner, Rose said.

He noted that Central Pennsylvania has a number of older homes built in the 1920s and 1930s. While the older homes are well-built they may have older systems.

When theres a fire, the outside may still be intact, but theres a lot of interior damage. Reconstruction will mean bringing it up to meet the current building code standards, he said.

Anthony Morgan, co-owner of the Black Gryphon restaurant in Elizabethtown, hired Impact Disaster to rebuild the restaurant after a devastating fire December 2016. The accidental fire caused $500,000 in damage.

IDS was here the day of the fire, Morgan said. They had another job nearby and stopped at the restaurant to let us know they could help us rebuild. I was with an insurance adjuster at the time, and he had worked with IDS previously. I had also heard some good things about IDS from friends. Our focus at the Black Gryphon is on keeping things local we use local vendors as much as possible.

In fact, Morgan had worked previously with some area flooring and paint contractors and wanted to include them in the effort to rebuild the restaurant. When I conveyed that to IDS, they were OK with that idea and used them as subcontractors for our project, Morgan said. That meant a lot to me, and they helped us work with the insurance company and with the township permitting process.

The reconstruction began with demolition anything damaged by the fire or smoke was removed. The rebuilding was a bit more complicated as Morgan sought to get the restaurant back in business.

We loved the existing floor plan and really couldnt change it due to zoning requirements, but we could make some minor changes. We also had to bring the building up to code, he said. So many people know this place, and we wanted to keep a familiar look but also make some improvements.

The improvements, most of which Morgan says were not covered by insurance, included making the front deck accessible to people with disabilities, removing a drop ceiling, replacing carpet with tile, enlarging some windows, installing an oak top on the bar, and adding landscaping to improve curb appeal.

The reconstructed Black Gryphon opened about nine months after the fire.

One remaining challenge is climate control, Morgan said.

The recent cold snap has been a test of how well the thermostats work, and we may need to have them look at those because there are some cold spots, he said, noting that Impact pledges to fix any problems for two years after reconstruction Since its an old building, we have different heating systems. The original part of the building [built in the 1940s] has baseboard heat, while the main part of the building, which is newer, has a forced air system.

It is the kind of challenge that led Rose to start the Impact Energy Services division last year. It has contracts with energy providers such as First Energy and UGI to perform energy audits for their customers who request one.

We chose to venture into energy because its very similar to the insurance work we handle with IDS, Rose said. The process is similar except we are working with energy companies instead of insurance companies.

While many companies offer energy audits, Rose said Impact also has the ability to make any renovations identified as necessary to save energy.

Among the companys recent clients is the Red Lion Fire Department. Its main engine bay was lit by 32 light fixtures, each with two fluorescent tubes. An audit indicated that it would be more energy efficient to replace the fixtures with LED fixtures. Rose says the new LED fixtures, 13 in all, provide the same amount of light at a savings of more than $4,000 a year. The department got $2,500 in rebates from its energy company and expects to recoup the cost of the new lights within five years, Rose added.

In most cases the energy provider will provide an incentive or rebate to help pay for the upgrades, Rose said. Energy providers want to encourage people to become energy efficient.View the full article from the Central Penn Business Journal at http://www.cpbj.com/article/20202/CPBJ01/139959/impact-disaster-services-branches-out. Copyright 201 BridgeTower Media. All Rights Reserved.

CREDIT: Rochelle A. Shenk