We are back in our Ocean City office!
The fire took place on February 10th and the cleanup took longer than expected. We never actually saw a flame and just had smoke damage.
With smoke damage, the entire building had to be cleaned, then painted. All of the insulation and duct work on one side of the building had to be replaced.
As an insurance agent it is our job to be ready for disaster when it strikes. We are happy to report our phones were off only the Monday after the fire. As with Hurricane Sandy, we prepared for the event before it happened. We built the office in Marmora (on the mainland right outside Ocean City) 10 years ago because of growth and in case we could not get to the Ocean City office. For the last two months most of the Ocean City office has been working in the Marmora office in the conference room & on folding tables. Honestly, it worked really well!
Over the coming months we will feature some lessons learned to help mitigate exposure and help you if you ever have a loss.
We need to thank those who helped us get back into our office as quickly as possible:
Ocean City Fire Department- They worked with us before, during, and after the fire. When the office was originally being built, these guys talked us into installing a lock box that has keys and codes to the building. So when there was smoke in our building they unlocked the door and let themselves in. Without the box they would have let themselves in… but it would have involved breaking glass. The firefighters also worked hard to minimize any collateral damage to our building as they sought out the source of the smoke.
Ocean City Police Department– The OCPD helped direct traffic and kept the McMahon family members informed about the situation.
Marmora and Margate Fire Departments– These guys came to back-up the Ocean City Fire Dept., and earlier that day all three departments were at a much larger structure fire.
Mike Contino and Pete Madden- from Berkshire Hathaway office next door. Each called a McMahon to let them know they saw smoke.
Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian– He stopped by at 8:30pm that Sunday night while the fire was active to make sure we were okay.
ServPro of Cape May and Cumberland Counties– We called Barb and Pat Jones at 8:15pm on Sunday to let them know we needed their help. Their team was literally waiting for firefighters to finish up that night to walk the property and get to work.
Franklin Mutual Insurance and Merchants Mutual Insurance – The insurance companies who insure the building and insure our agency.
Halliday-Leonard – Owners Scott and Keith were here that Sunday night to help us. Keith worked with the subcontractors to get them lined up to repair the building.
The contractors who did the work: Wilson Plumbing, Cape Installation, Aponte Painting, Pinelands Demolition, Complete Interiors, Power Restoration, Avalon Flooring, Patti’s Party World.
Our adjuster from Decker and Associates, James Matroni.
Ted Vaughn from Barra-Vaughn Insurance Agency. Ted left us a message the morning after the fire. If there was anything we needed his office would be glad to help. Very classy.
Richard Booth & Jim Bourgeois who offered us office space in our time of need.
We would also like to thank our customers for working with us through the fire and being flexible. Thank you to our staff who handled a difficult situation with ease. The community, friends and again our customers who offered to help and keep us positive.
It is an experience we hope you never face but can tell you, if you ever do, we live in an amazing community. And yes we did have enough insurance! If you ever have any questions or would like to review your insurance we will be happy to do so.
Thank you, The McMahons
McMahon Insurance Agency| 609-399-0060| Email | Website
