How would your categorize water on a loss

[marksimeone]

I have been searching around looking to find an answer to to question I have posed. I have gone directly to IICRC and as usual with large bodies they have not been able to answer the question as of yet. I have limited time and and need to get the answer. Now I have found this site and see that it is visited by many people in my industry. I want to pose the question here and if there is some kind of response I will subscribe to the site but for now I am sitting in a flooded building debating category of water with a pain in the neck adjuster who thinks he is an expert so come guys and give me your best answers.

The loss is an aprtment building 3 floors and basement partially wood frame and patially masonary structure with steel/concrete decks. affected areas are common halls and stairwells, individual apartments and a first floor restuarant. the source of water was a third floor failure of a sprinker line which ran for about two hours before it was stopped. My walk through considering the source and effected areas lead me to conclude that I was dealing with a category 2/ and marginally cat3 water loss my prescription is to remove alot of the effected dry wall because of the water category and the adjuster feels I am not justified what would you do as professionals?

 

[Jeremy]

I'd cut & paste this to the earth wind & fire room....

 

[Jack May]

Hey Mark,

your imput in the forum is valued, why don't you go to this room viewforum.php?f=42 and as you've already filled your profile out, introduce yourself and get immediate Supporting Member Status once Mikey oks you.

From there, you'll have immediate access to the other rooms with a hoard of info in the archive as well as a heaps of room specific gurus waiting to help you answer your questions.

The Earth, Wind and Fire room has some awesomely knowledgable moderators and contributors and I'm sure will be able to give you some help in this regard.

Look forward to your continued support.

John

 

[Jack May]

Fred, as Mark is not a SM yet, I decided to leave it here either till he becomes an SM or for a few days then shift it inside.

Seems Mark is using it as a yard stick to see if he wants to come inside or not.

John

 

[Jack May]

What's so difficult about asking to be a SM?

John

 

[Chris Muetterties]

Did you see the log that is kept that shows the routine flushing of the sprinkler system? Why not hire an Environmental Hygienist to test the affected area for bacteria ? Then you have proof or a CYA piece of paper for this job.

 

[kmdineen]

Category 3 water is grossly contaminated water. The IICRC S-500 third edition gives the restorer leeway in determining the category of the loss. What do you see and what do you smell, what is reasonable to mitigate this loss?
Very good advice regarding the sprinkler system maintenance. There should be a tag on the system and records of the maintenance.
If the sprinkler system checks out and there are no indications of the water being grossly contaminated I would treat it as a Category II and begin drying.
If you determine the water is likely to be grossly contaminated due to your inspection and or lack of maintenance records for the sprinkler system, contact a IH or indoor environmental professional to give you a procedure for drying. Do not begin drying a category 3 loss before cleaning or removing contaminated material.

 

[kmdineen]

Do you mean, is this a CLASS 3 loss, lots of water from above, and want to remove sheetrock because it is extremely wet, sagging or you need to remove insulation?
Why would you think some affected area's are a category 3 (grossly contaminated)? A side from some possible sediment build up, sprinkler systems are fresh water.

 

[Chris Muetterties]

Fred

Great post !! Fire systems are too often overlooked thinking that it is just fresh water. Just ask a Fireman about all the respiratory problems they get from this water.

DO NOT OVER LOOK THESE DANGERS

 

[cu]

i would go with a cat3, due to the source of the water