Preparing a Building for Ashfall
If you have been advised that ashfall is a possibility, it is important to take steps to prepare buildings. Preparation will help mitigate the effects of ashfall to the building generally and specifically to interior and exterior areas.
- Keep ash out of building interiors, intake vents, drains and sewer systems.
- Ensure adequate supplies of necessary equipment (i.e. clean up equipment, disposal bags, etc.)
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Check insurance policies to see if any actions undertaken to clean-up or repair damage would void the insurance policy, or, conversely, any inaction towards the roof or structure during or after an ash fall might void the policy as well.
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Know what plan your community/authorities has developed for disposing ash that you collect.
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Coordinate your clean-up efforts with your neighbors and community to prevent the need for more than one ash-removal project, especially from public streets.
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Communities:
- promptly notify building owners to remove ash from roofs in a timely manner (or according to a specific schedule) to prevent streets from having to be cleaned many times.
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inform the public of effective methods for removing ash from roofs and property and preparing it for pick up by clean-up crews and organizing neighborhood cleanup activities (see cleaning up and disposal link below).
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Protect buildings from corrosion.
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If heavy ash fall is possible, learn about the design and load capacity of your building(s).