Good News For NJ Hurricane Irene Victims

Here at Paul Davis Restoration, your safety, and the protection of your home and family, is our primary concern. That's why we wanted to make sure you had heard the newest development for Hurricane Irene Victims.

The federal government and the FEMA agency has extended the deadline for NJ victims of Hurricane Irene to apply for disaster aid. NJ residents affected by hurricane Irene must now apply for disaster related aid by November 30th. The Press of Atlantic City wrote the following article on the subject,

"We've extended the registration deadline for people who for whatever reason, have not had the opportunity to register for assistance." William L. Vogel, FEMA's federal coordinating officer, said in a statement. The goal is to ensure all elligible Irene survivors have the chance to seek assistance."

Disaster assistance to individuals could include grants to help pay for temporary housing needs, essential home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or other sources, FEMA said. Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration are also available for homeowners, renters and business owners to repair or replace real or personal property, FEMA officials said.

Federal disaster recovery centers remain open at Hamilton Mall in Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, and at the Cumberland County Emergency 911 Communications and Training Center in Upper Deerfield Township. Those centers are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The disaster recovery centers in Cape May and Ocean counties have closed.

FEMA spokesman Ed Edahl said the centers in Atlantic and Cumberland counties will remain open as long as they remain busy.

“That’s really a call we make as things go along,” he said. “As traffic thins out, we try to accommodate people in other ways. Right now, the traffic has been strong, which is one reason for the extension.”

Edahl said New Jersey residents filed more than 8,300 disaster claims related to Hurricane Irene. He said he didn’t have a breakdown of that number by county.

FEMA officials said on Oct. 4 that more than 70,700 disaster claims filed up to that date included 2,932 in Atlantic County, 419 in Cape May County, 1,954 in Cumberland County and 830 in Ocean County.

Edahl said that, as of Friday, the number of disaster claims filed out of the disaster recovery centers totaled 590 in Atlantic County, 549 in Cumberland County, 325 in Cape May County and 95 in Ocean County.

People can also register damage claims at disasterassistance.gov or at m.fema.gov. People can also call FEMA at 800-621-3362.

Officials in South Jersey were so worried about the potential devastation that Hurricane Irene could cause when it struck on Aug. 27 and 28 that mandatory evacuations were ordered for all of Cape May County and parts of Atlantic County.

Cumberland County suffered extensive rain-caused flooded that further damaged some roads, bridges and dams battered during a storm that hit on Aug. 14.

Six banks eventually agreed to offer low-interest loans to Cumberland County residents who suffered property damage related to Hurricane Irene. More information about those loans can be found atwww.co.cumberland.nj.us."

Was your home or property damaged by Hurricane Irene or flooding? Call the experts at Paul Davis Restoration of Northeast NJ today!

Fire Prevention Month: Smoke Alarm Tips

For this week's October Fire prevention month update, we're going to bring you tons of great information and tips on one of the most important appliances in your home- the smoke alarm!

Having a working smoke alarm is the single best way to protect your family and your home from disaster involving fire. However, many families have smoke alarms that don't work and they don't know it until it's too late. Read on for some great tips from the National Fire Prevention Association:

-Make sure to install smoke alarms outside of every bedroom, in any seperate sleeping areas, and on every floor of your home. Also, it's important to make sure that they are all interconnected so that any time one goes off on any floor, they all will.

-There are two types of smoke alarms. One is called an ionization alarm, and it's more responsive to flaming fires. The other is called a photoelectric alarm and is more responsive to smoldering fires. For this reason, it's best to install both types at different locations through out your home.

-Since smoke rises, it makes the most sense to install alarms high on a wall or ceiling.

-Test alarms monthly to make sure they're working properly.

-Replace all smoke alarm batteries at least once a year.

-Also, make sure to replace every smoke alarm once every ten years at least.

Working fire alarms are a crucial part of any families home fire escape plan. Make sure to create an escape plan with your family during this fire prevention month!

Mark Your Calendar!

Have your calendar handy? Good! Because you're going to want to mark this down. Wednesday, October 26th Paul Davis Restoration of Northeast NJ will be offering another one of our great continuing education classes!

This class will be taught on identity theft and is course #88890753. The class will be taught in our beautiful facility in Waldwick, NJ- easily accessible off of highway 208 or route 17 in northern NJ. The class will be given twice on the 26th, so that it will fit in with even the busiest schedules! The morning session will begin at 9AM and end at 12pM, and will include a wonderful breakfast spread. Our afternoon session will run from 1pM- 4PM and offer some fantastic lunch options.

As always, the continuing education course is free of charge. So, please consider joining us for this great opportunity to get some of your continuing education requirements out of the way, network with industry professionals and enjoy a good meal. We are looking forward to meeting you next Wednesday. Space is limited and goes quickly so please email dholm@pdr-usa.net to reserve your space today!

Prevent Dryer Fires!

Here's another installment of fire prevention advice from Paul Davis Restoration of Northeast NJ in honor of October being fire prevention month! Last week we told you about how frequent fires caused by dryers and other electric appliances are, so this week we'll give you some tips for preventing dryer fires!

Let's start with the obvious- the lint trap- it's important to clean your dryers lint trap before every cycle. While this is a great way to decrease the risk, it's not the only step you need to be taking.

Fire risk increase the most when lint builds up in the dryers exhaust vent hose. Dryer fires are responsible for about 15,000 home fires annually.

Make sure to replace plastic or foil vent hoses with metal. This is totally necessary in order to decrease the risk of a dryer fire occurring in your home. Plastic and foil venting is much more likely to sag which leaves more possibility for the build up of lint, heat and moisture.

Homeowners should also aim to clean out the exhaust hose vent annually. This will ensure that build up of lint is avoided. It's also important to make sure the area behind a dryer is free of anything flammable. Cleaning behind your dryer is helps make sure that there is nothing that will catch fire in the event that there is a problem.

Finally, and this may sound strange, put a brick behind your dryer. Anytime someone closes the dryer door, the dryer has a tendency to push back further and this could crush venting systems. This could lead to a malfunction and leave your home unprotected from dryer fires.

Don't Forget Tomorrow Is CE Class Day!

We are very excited to remind you that tomorrow is a VERY big day at Paul Davis Restoration of Northeast NJ! It's CE class day! We will be offering a free continuing education course that counts towards continuing education course credit requirements for NJ insurance agents.

This particular course will cover Employers and Employees in the Insurance Industry. It will be offered, just as all of our complimentary continuing education courses are, at two different times, so it's convenient for any working professional's schedule. Our morning session will begin at 9 A.M. and end at 12P.M. and our afternoon session will begin at 1P.M. and end at 4P.M. A great breakfast spread will be included in the morning session and the afternoon session will include a bunch of delicious lunch selections.

Come join us for a great opportunity to mix and mingle with other NJ insurance agents and the staff of a reputable and professional home restoration company. Don't miss this great opportunity to increase your knowledge and your business network!

Fire Prevention Month: Things You Didn't Know

As we've already told you, October is Fire Prevention month. So we'll be focusing on giving you lots of info on how to keep your home and family protected from fire in the coming posts. This week, we thought it would be best to fill you in on some fire facts you may not have known.

1. Did you know... one home fire was reported every 87 seconds in 2009?

2. Did you know... on average 7 people die in home fires every day, people over the age of 65 are at the highest risk?

3. Did you know... roughly two thirds of fire deaths occur in homes with no, or non-working smoke alarms?

4. Did you know... one in five smoke alarms failures was due to dead batteries?

5. Did you know... unattended cooking was by far the leading cause of fires?

6. Did you know...households using electric ranges have a higher risk of fires than those using gas ranges?

7. Did you know... heating equipment was the second leading cause of all reported home fires and fire related deaths?

8. Did you know... 53% of home electrical fires involved some type of equipment like washers/dryers, fans, and space heaters?

9. Did you know... half of all home heating fire deaths resulted from equipment being too close to items that can burn, such as furniture, mattresses, boxes etc?

10. Did you know... on average there are 35 home candle fires reported per day?

What other important info have you gained in fire prevention month? How are you going to work to protect your home and family this October?

Happy October. It's Fire Prevention Month!

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year, and October my favorite month of the entire season. I am so excited for cooler weather, football and time spent with family... One not so obvious occasion that comes along with the arrival of October is the kick off of Fire Prevention Month!

The American Red Cross is sponsoring fire prevention month, just like they have in the past. Based on data collected by the National Fire Protection Association, there are between 350,000 and 400,000 house fires every year. The same data states that house fires are the biggest disaster threat to families in our country, after floods and hurricanes, both of which this area has become increasingly familiar with this past spring and summer.

The American Red Cross is focusing on two key steps to preventing fires and increasing home safety during the fire prevention month. First, they are focusing on the importance of installing smoke alarms throughout your home. Second, they are urging families to get together to develop an escape route and safety plan in the unfortunate event that a fire should occur.

Preparedness is the key to safety in situations that involve home disasters. Make sure you take the steps to prevent damage and protect your home and loved ones. If disaster should strike, let us help you! Call Paul Davis Restoration of Northeast NJ for fast, convenient, and professional service!

Are You In The Loop?

Have you heard? Paul Davis Restoration of Northeast NJ is doing even more to keep you up to date and in the know with everything you'd ever want to be aware of if you're a NJ homeowner or insurance agent.

We've been working around the clock to put together as much info as possible to distribute to you in our monthly newsletter. Our newsletter goes out at the end of each month and is full of great tips, tricks, and articles for homeowners.

This month it has a great feature about September being National Preparedness Month, and a write up about our great experiences in Atlantic City, NJ at the Firefighter's Mutual Benevolent Association Convention. It also continually features all of the dates for our upcoming CE classes and information on how to sign up and reserve your spot.

You definitely don't want to miss this! Request to be put on our mailing list by emailing sarah.kearns11@gmail.com