RCR rising out of the ashes
IN TRUE Phoenix-like fashion, River Canal Rescue is rising from the ashes after the fire in an adjoining building gutted its premises and stock last November. (RCR staff's terrifying explosion experience.)
The team has been working from a temporary office ever since, with emergency and general enquiry lines on divert to mobiles and post re-directed to its new address, with Managing Director, Stephanie Horton, explaining:
Close to full recovery
"It's been a tough time but we‘re going from strength to strength and are close to a full recovery. Thanks to the generous assistance of our many suppliers and contractors, stock levels are now reaching the same levels, prior to the fire. By April we hope to be back in our original location, moving into newly-built offices and storage areas, and we will then be able to install permanent phone lines.
"It's business as usual regarding administration, and our membership packs and documentation are now up to date and on track. The only area that has proved more difficult is with accounts. It was in the main, a paper-based system, which perished in the fire, so we've had to build a new system from scratch. This has inevitably led to payment delays, but these should be resolved by the end of January and we thank our suppliers and contractors for their patience.
"Operationally we've tried to ensure the fire has had little impact on our customers and the service we provide—and we've been helped by our insurance company, Navigators & General, who ensured disruption was kept to a minimum. Its team provided unparalleled support in resolving our claim and this has been crucial in keeping our business running."
Ready for the new season
Stephanie originally predicted it would take until Easter for her business to recover, however with stock back to its original levels and two new members of staff joining the office and engineering team, she's confident RCR can meet customer demands moving in to the busy season.
A major issue has arisen as a result of the fire after RCR found the owner of the company housing the fireworks did not have insurance. The firework company had an inspection from Trading Standards, who licence the sale of fireworks, two weeks before the incident. However there is no requirement to check whether adequate or the correct insurance is in place. Had insurance been taken out, the insurer would have required the owner to comply with strict health & safety guidelines.
Campaigning for checks
RCR is campaigning along with other affected businesses for Trading Standards to routinely check insurance when undertaking visits, with Stephanie concluding:
"It's a sobering thought, but a simple modification to the rules could have prevented this fire from happening, saving lives and safeguarding businesses. Our landlord is set to lose £650,000 and the business next door has ceased trading. This is no surprise when the fire brigade advises 65% of businesses fail following a catastrophic fire."