The IFCPP NE Chapter visited BELFOR PROPERTY RESTORATION
Marlborough, MA on Thursday, November 29, 2018

Attendees:
Austin Sharpe (IFCPP NE Chapter President)
Nick Haddon (Secretary/Treasurer), Addison Gallery
Richard Boardman, Chapter Board Member, Yale
Susan Rodrigues, Yale
Rick St. Hilaire, Chapter Board Member, Cultural Heritage Lawyer Meg Wilson, Mount Auburn Cemetery
Gregor Trinkaus-Randall, Stony Creek Consulting
Charles Wilkinson, Addison Gallery
Jeffry Stanley, Addison Gallery
Jason Roy, Addison Gallery
Brian Coleman, Addison Gallery
Les Maloney, Addison Gallery
John Michael Gariepy, Addison Gallery
Cleighton Tourtellotte, Belfor Property Restoration
Gerry McGonagle, General Manager, Belfor Property Restoration Hans Wetrup, Belfor Property Restoration
Ernie Marvell, Belfor Property Restoration

We thank Cleighton, Gerry, Hans and Ernie for hosting our visit. We had an in-depth tour of the facilities, presentation and workshop on responding, recovering and mitigating a wide range of cultural materials, from paper and books, to electronic media and textiles. Throughout the evening, Belfor enthusiastically shared their experience and expertise, demonstrating the range of equipment and extent of their facilities in Marlborough.

Meeting Notes:
The key steps in Belfor’s services are:

 1. PREPARE: as a minimum, a basic emergency response plan should include team members, communications and established contacts with companies that provide disaster response services.

2. RESPOND: to stabilize the emergency and stop whatever is happening – for example, water leaks, electrical issues. One of Belfor’s objectives is to bring calmness to the situation.

3. RECOVER: to create a plan of prioritized actions for artwork and buildings.

4. MITIGATION: to stabilize, through recovery and reconstruction.

During the tour, members discussed the value of COSTEP MA as a resource for information and support for the protection of cultural property.

The role and value of volunteers was discussed; the advice was that, unless they are part of a response team, they should stay clear. The site should be secured as rapidly as possible and “freelancing” discouraged. The suggestion was to take the name, contact information of all potential volunteers, and say that they would be contacted if help was required.

Belfor has seen increasing demand for dealing with mold in buildings. Perhaps the recent wet weather has been a significant contributing factor.

Other subjects discussed at the meeting were:

• Spills and falls and the value of surveillance video as evidence.
• Richard Boardman recently saw a demonstration of a robot that inspects floors for potential slip/fall hazards.

Nick Haddon
IFCPP New England Secretary/Treasurer