Case Studies

Situation/Background
Just weeks before the busiest flying season of the year, a fire engulfed the power facility at Lambert International Airport. 

Woodard was quickly engaged to facilitate the drying and fire restoration efforts - in fact, our project managers were on-site while firefighters were extinguishing the flames.

Response
By the time firefighters were leaving, Woodard had multiple crews on location, along with a 200kW generator to supply power to restorative efforts and a 5000 CFM dehumidifier.  Additionally, portable dehus, air movers and air scrubbers were dispatched to the facility.  As expected, security was tight at this location. 

Since this facility houses massive boilers for the airport, along with repair facilities and pneumatic and hydronic operating systems, it was imperative that some of the machinery remained in operation throughout the restoration
process, in order to keep flight schedules from being compromised.

Solution
Woodard established a command post in an adjacent building, where the 24/7 restoration efforts were organized for the next month.  After making an initial assessment, separate cleaning crews were assigned specific areas of the building to clean, focusing efforts and applying priority to the areas requiring immediate attention. 

As much of the machinery within this facility required hand-cleaning, crews of about 20 technicians were assigned to each shift.  While most restoration crews worked on the fire restoration work, other crews focused on drying the adjacent offices and locker areas, while others secured gaping holes in walls and missing windows, keeping the winter winds and elements outside.

As our restoration work progressed, we worked side-by-side with the electrical and mechanical engineers who rewired and repaired the damaged machinery throughout the building.  When our cleaning efforts were complete, Woodard utilized thermal fog applications to completely eliminate any trace of lingering odors from the fire and construction efforts.

Woodard's quick response and our ability to facilitate 24/7 restoration efforts in a secure environment helped keep airline flights on schedule through the busiest travel time of the year.