With well over 400 projects completed each year, Disaster Team helps Owensboro and the surrounding areas recover from the unexpected. Many clients call their 24/7 line when faced with damage from fire, water, storm, odor, mold and trauma involving cleanup of blood or other bodily fluids from humans or wildlife.
Developed out of the parent company, Buildings by Wayne Baker, Disaster Team was formed from an unmet need in the community for a contractor to specialize in quality fire reconstruction and developed into a full-service restoration and reconstruction contractor.
Wayne Baker and business partner Paul Camp own the two companies together and are currently “working to grow that imprint in the Hopkinsville community.”
Jordan Camp joined his father’s company five years ago, becoming general manager of Disaster Team. He and a team of 35 employees have expanded the business and technology utilized when serving clients.
“Disasters happen every day,” Camp said. “We never wish this upon anyone. We do however hope to build a reputation that we are a family-owned company and to know we are going to do everything in our power to get them back into their home as soon as possible, while at the same time knowing they are going to have a quality product when we’re finished.”
Over time, Disaster Team has made their name known in the Owensboro community with some well-known projects resulting from significant events like the 2000 and 2007 tornados. Third Baptist Church was their largest project to date, an over $8 million restoration of their historic bell tower as a result of an EF-3 tornado that struck the church in 2007.
“We encourage customers to come to our office and see photos of our work,” Camp said, speaking on the wide variety of projects completed by their team. “We get anything from house fires to water line breaks, overflowing toilets, frozen water line damage, trauma cleanup (suicide and murders) and vehicle collisions with buildings. We are even certified with the State of Kentucky with meth lab cleanup.”
Disaster Team tries very hard to always keep the customer in their home or place of business while they are restoring it, but there are some instances due to fire or major water damage that that isn’t possible. Although they are not affiliated with any insurance company, they do pride themselves in working well with all parties involved for complete client satisfaction.
“We understand the customer may be frustrated and going through a very tough situation so we try to be as kind and understanding as possible,” Camp said. “To us, it may be an everyday thing, but to that customer, it’s a tragic event and they oftentimes need us to reassure them that everything will get back to normal. Since we’re not licensed adjusters, we always encourage our clients to call their insurance first and we can try to coach them through the insurance process.”
Their process has evolved through the years and now includes state of the art cleaning equipment, with an ultrasonic cleaning system called Firelink.
“We can clean soft goods, fine china, taxidermy, electronics and other items using an ultrasonic tank that uses sound waves to clean delicate products,” Camp said. “We want to give them something back that’s even better than what they started with.”
Not only is Disaster Team giving value back to its clients, but they also have a strong focus on community involvement and support.
“We have tried to direct our marketing money towards events for nonprofits who have a positive impact in the community,” Camp said. “We’ve most recently supported nonprofits like Puzzle Pieces, Boulware Mission, the upcoming Wendell Foster half marathon and local educational institutes like Kentucky Wesleyan College and Brescia University.”
That educational support component will now extend to Owensboro Community & Technical College beginning in the fall of 2019 with a Carpentry Certificate.
“It will be a seven- to nine-month program that will hopefully increase the students’ employability and skill set,” Camp said. “We are highly involved and supportive of this program as the trades are in dire need of more qualified people. We’re just not seeing the young people in recent years get involved in trade work so we’re hoping that by supporting this initiative, we’ll also find new people that will be able to fulfill future roles with available and qualified employees.”
Learn more information about Disaster Team here or call their 24/7 line at (270)926-5001
