water, and computer and phone systems were damaged. The elevators and electricity were out of service. Smoke soot was everywhere including in the HVAC system vent shafts, in 80 homes, 5 elevator shafts, the mechanical room, party room and emergency stairwells.

It was necessary to coordinate clean-up and communication efforts in a guided, unemotional and efficient manner. My team had to stay on track and motivated over the next many weeks as we began our immediate efforts and developed long-term plans to restore this beautiful property. Many of our residents were displaced for months while their homes dried out, were cleaned, demolished and re-constructed. The residents were justifiably emotional and we worked hard to gain their trust. A fire liaison was hired whose responsibility was to coordinate efforts for damaged unit clean-up. The original material used in the apartment flooring and drywall contained asbestos. It was necessary to develop a detailed explanation/manual regarding homeowner’s insurance coverage and our remediation efforts. Many owners found they were under-insured and we had to work with them so they could put their homes back in livable fashion.

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Over the year it took to put this property back in order we replaced over 50 residential doors, renovated 44 hallways, cleaned the ventilation systems, abated asbestos in 100 homes, painted the stairwells, replaced major HVAC components, and repaired the structural steel and exterior travertine. Our total insurance loss was over $3.5 million. I made a presentation of the fire events and my team’s actions to our company’s 100+ property managers. I also made a presentation to a local neighborhood community group, the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR) so others could learn from the misfortune and plan for such disasters at their own properties.

This fire was the impetus to implement a better and more immediate emergency communication plan across our companies managed properties. Today this program, known as “Resident Notify,” is used to immediately communicate with each of our owners and residents via email, text or voicemail, their choice. The ability to now instantly communicate with our residents and owners in an easy, web-based system has been tremendous. Email

blasts are fine, but not necessarily the best exclusive way to instantaneously communicate. The lessons learned from this fire changed the focus and approach our managed properties use to plan and deal with emergencies.

to Extinguish This Blazes Blaze

It Took Over 300 Firefighters to Extinguish This Blaze

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