LAKEPORT, Calif. – With New Year’s Eve rapidly approaching, now is the perfect time to think about making some resolutions, according to Lakeport-area SERVPRO franchise owners.

While resolutions typically involve committing to personal changes and reaching goals, these clean-up and restoration professionals say the single most important resolution both business and home owners can make for 2017 is to “Resolve to be Ready.”

“Preparing in advance to deal with the unexpected can make a world of difference in how quickly and completely property owners can put the pieces of their lives back together,” said Sue Steen, Servpro Industries Inc. chief executive officer. “Emergency readiness plans are the foundation for effective and timely emergency response.”

SERVPRO disaster remediation professionals in the Lakeport area encourage all property owners to take advantage of the no-cost emergency planning tools available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, at www.ready.gov/publications , as well as SERVPRO’s Emergency READY Profile and READY Plan Mobile App ( http://ready.servpro.com ).

For homeowners:

• FEMA resources include guidelines for a creating a Family Emergency Plan and Emergency Supply List, with additional tips for pet owners, seniors, people with disabilities, and even commuters.
• SERVPRO offers their free SERVPRO READY Plan app, which stores critical contact and property information electronically in advance, where it can be accessed with a mobile device in seconds if disaster strikes.

For business owners:

• FEMA offers materials on topics ranging from creating a Business Continuity Plan to an Insurance Discussion Coverage Form in addition to guidelines for creating an Emergency Response Plan.
• For businesses, SERVPRO offers a no-cost facility assessment and assistance in creating a comprehensive Emergency READY Profile® (ERP). The ERP includes information about emergency contact numbers, priority and high/risk areas, shut-off valve locations and more that can then be stored
in the READY app.

“The time to gather and store information like emergency contact numbers; insurance contacts; and the location of fuse boxes, fire suppression system controls, and such is before an emergency strikes, not during an emergency,” said Steen. “Having this information at your fingertips can help emergency responders react as quickly and effectively as possible, helping to limit loss of property and even lives.”

SERVPRO specializes in disaster restoration, cleanup and repair services, helping to remediate damage, making it “Like it never even happened,” for both commercial and residential customers.

For more information on SERVPRO, please visit www.servpro.com .