Wildheart’s Senior Property Manager, Abi Friar, had her skills tested to the limit earlier this year as the UK was battered by the strongest storms since records began.

Storm Éowyn, which struck in late January, brought record-breaking winds exceeding 100 mph to parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern parts of England.

The storm caused widespread damage, including downed trees, blocked roads, and extensive power outages impacting hundreds of thousands of households.

For Wildheart, the impact was felt close to home. Wildheart’s Nottingham office is located on the ground floor of the Picture Works, a modern, mostly residential building in the centre of Nottingham. Managed by Wildheart, in addition to Wildheart’s office, the building houses 120 apartments and is home to around 250 residents.

Wildheart Property Manager’s Emergency Response

On a stormy Friday afternoon at Wildheart’s Nottingham office, Senior Property Manager Abi Friar received a message from a tenant on one of the upper floors that the roof had been blown off the building. Acting fast, Abi began to investigate immediately.

It quickly transpired that it was not the entire building roof that had sustained damage. However, a section of roof membrane over two flats had lifted, allowing water and wind to get into the structure beneath.

As Abi couldn’t see the full extent of the damage from inside the affected flats, she arranged access to a flat that overlooks the damaged roof section. From this location, she could see the damage and take photos to share with contractors.

Managing an Emergency – Wildheart Put Safety First

The priority was to ensure the safety of residents and any passers-by. As the area was still under a yellow wind alert, Abi was well aware that any loose roof material could pose a threat to people below should it be blown off the roof.

She notified the fire department, who quickly attended to assess the damage. For the safety of anyone in the vicinity, the fire service opted to close the surrounding roads until the danger of wind had passed.

As there was a chance of rain penetrating the damaged roof and getting into the electricity circuits, Abi immediately organised an electrician to isolate the circuits in the affected flats and disconnect the supply.

She also secured alternative accommodation for the residents of the affected flats.

Emergency Repairs Following Storm Damage

Once the immediate threat had been taken care of, Abi’s attention turned to damage limitation and repair.

Wildheart have an extensive network of trusted tradespeople to call on for regular maintenance and in case of emergencies. In this case, however, the regular contractors were already responding to other call-outs. Not deterred, Abi pressed on and managed to find several reputable contractors to assess and quote for the repair, one company even managing to carry out a drone survey despite the still heavy winds.

The remainder of Abi’s weekend was spent working into the night to liaise with contractors, review risk assessments, check public liability insurance and inspect warranty conditions to ensure that any work agreed to would be carried out safely and to an appropriate standard.

Going Above and Beyond – The Wildheart Ethos

Commenting on her unplanned working weekend, Abi said:

“I knew I couldn’t leave this till Monday. There was more wind and rain in the forecast, so I knew this storm damage had to be fixed as soon as possible. But I also knew that I couldn’t just go with any contractor who came along. I needed to make sure that this job was done properly, to make sure the roof was safe and watertight for a long time to come.”

By Monday morning, Abi had a team on site, working on the roof repair. The contractors installed a rubber-based membrane system to ensure that the roof would be properly sealed and watertight. By 4:30 pm on Monday, all work was complete, backed by a 10-year warranty.

Wildheart Property Director Chris March on the handling of this emergency:

“The way in which property managers deal with emergencies has a real impact on residents’ wellbeing . Being able to get roofing contractors on site so quickly was quite an achievement particularly following such a severe storm where contractors were inundated with work. From the moment the incident happened Abi worked tirelessly throughout the weekend to source available contractors, instruct the works, and check health and safety compliance. She managed to make something that is quite complex and requires a lot of work look relatively straightforward. Most residents at Picture Works were not impacted at all by this major incident, which is what good Property Management looks like.”

With weather patterns becoming more extreme, freak storms, freezing conditions, and heat waves are likely to become more common, making preventative maintenance and effective emergency response essential for residential managing agents.

Does your residential managing agent go to the same lengths as Wildheart does to secure your building and look after your tenants? If not, call us today and switch to Wildheart.