How To Keep Emergencies From Becoming Disasters

As hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, fires, riots and other disasters strike across the nation, more wholesalers, distributors and retailers are recognizing the need for a comprehensive emergency management sEategy.

Four steps - prevention, preparedness, response and recovery - will prepare a company to face an accidental, deliberate ornahral disaster, John Ingram, CIGNA loss control specialist, explains.

Top management must commit time, financial resources and staff to the project if it is to be successful. An emergency team representing various operating areas of the business should be selected to plan for emergencies and practice what to do in various situations. They need to focus on at least six areas, Ingram points out.

The first task is identifying hazards inherent in the business and predicting potential emergencies. This includes determining areas of the operation susceptible to water, smoke or fire damage, flooding, snow or wind, considering what will happen if the business loses power, phones, electronic data processing or even outside services such as shipping and identifying hazards such as stored flammables, toxins or explosive.

A game plan is then mapped out for each potential problem. This includes prevention, response and recovery - how to prevent the disaster, how to cope with it and how the business can recover.

Responsibilities for carrying out the plans are best assigned among all employees. Prevention should be worked into the daily routine. Response duties can be divided among the staff with one person in charge. Coordination must be established with outside agencies. Assignments that wil be needed for recovery should be made.

Drills to test and practice response to the disaster plan will detennine any adjusfiients needed. After these are made, each employee will lnow exacfly what to do in an emergency affecting his particular job or the entire operation.

The plan should be reviewed and updated at least once a year. This includes updating phone numbers, niunes, hazards and emplOyee responsibilities and responses.

Proper preparation, practice and monitoring of a preparedness plan are sure ways to keep emergencies from becoming disasters.

Forest Gommission Target

The California Forest products Commission will spend close to $l million to expand its campaign for wise use of the scate's renewable resources to include much of Northern California and add television and outdou advertising.

"The base campaign targeted Southern California because our research clearly indicated that we could positively affect the largest group of people in this area with our messages," said Carol Crow, president of the producer-supported commission which advocates balance. "Now ttrat the momentum has started, the time is right to move into Northern California, including the more rural areas."

Hoover Tleated Wood Products announces that a NATIONAL EVALUATION REPORT (NER-4S7) has been issued by the National Evaluation Service of the Gouncil of American Building officials to confirm that pyRo-GUARD Fire Retaldant Treated Lumber and Plywood meets requirements of the BOCA, UBC, and SBCCI modet building codes.

PYRO-GUARD has a degradation-free track record, a So-year projected useful life, and is the FIBSI Fire Retardant Treated Wood with: a fhird Party Kiln Monitoring in addltton to U.L. follow-up service

I FRf labor aid malerials replacemen] cost warranlv

REDWOOD Million Foot Club Awards from Simpson Timber Co. were presented to (1) Pay' lessCashways, Inc., with regional lumber spe' cialisl Mada Loeffler, Chandler, Az., rwiving the trophy, and (2) Capital Lumber Co., Phoe' nix, Az. Sales manager Sleve Myrick (lefl) and assistant manager Dean Wntets accapted lhe award from Simpson's assislant sales managet Joel Hamel (center). This is lhe 18th consecutive awad eamed by Capital.

Fibreboard Seeks Settlement

Fibreboard Corp. may face seeking Chapter ll bankruprcy protection if it loses an appeal in insurance coverage litigation with Continental Casualty Co., the company said

The proposed agreement provides that if Fibreboard wins the suit on appeal, the insurance company will pay up to $425 million for claims of exposure after March 1959. It also would pay up to $500,000 per individual for cliaims prior to that date.

Meanwhile, the Concord, Ca., wood and insulation products manufacturer along with Continental is attempting to negotiate a global settlement of claims arising from asbestos related injuries. If a settlement can be reached, litigation over insurance coverage between itself and Continental will be dropped, the company said.

Truck Robbers ln Overdrive

Times are proving even tougber for Southern California lumber yards hit by a weekend full ofruck robberies.

Late April 24 atBart Lumber Co., City of Industry, thieves unloaded the materials on a bobail and a truck and trailer, handloaded them with the plywood they wanted, placed plywood over tire spikes at the yard's entrance and drove ouL

The abandoned vehicles were recovered on Interstate 5 in Los Angeles, exactly where three Barr trucks were left after an identical robbery three weeks earlier.

With the price of plywood so high, Barr manager Irs Haugen suspects the thieves "are warehousing it somewhere in L.A. after stealing it from yards and custorners right off their job sites. It's like a black market on plywood."

Orange County Lumber Co., Santa Ana has had numerous fucks stolen over the last few years but none since last summer - until April 23. Felons hand-loaded a truck with plywood and drove through a hole they cut in the fence.

The owners believe they're victims of the same people who robbed Barr, since the rucks were all left along the same stretch of freeway. "It's a very unusual place to leave a Euck," said Rick Hormuth. "Why pull up on the freeway and have to run down the iceplant? Why not leave it in a dark residential cul-de-sac and just walk away?"

The next night criminals broke into Manke Trucking's Pomona reload center and tried to make off with two trucks pre-loaded with dimension lumber. They disabled the first truck when they used it as a battering ram to go tbrough the gate. The second vehicle was found the nextmoming.

The following day authorities in L.A. located a truck stolen April 23 from Universal Forest Products, Huntington Beach. As at Manke, the truck was pre-loaded, so the culprits just had to strap the materials down.

Unlike Manke's, Universal's truck was recovered fully loaded. "I think the reason the load was still intact was the Manke truck canied pre-cut studs, whereas ours had specialty products, which probably aren't as readily marketable," said Universal's Bobby Hill. "We're lucky. We must lead enchanted lives."

California Home Size Shrinks

The volume of lumber used in the Califomia market" tradition ally 40Vo of western production, could be affected if the downsizing rend for homes continues.

The large number of first time home buyers (5OVo n 1992) is one reason average home size has declined 2.9Vo to 1,990 sq. ft. from 1991's 2,O10 sq. ft., Westem Wood Products Association explains. Average prices have fallen 9Vo to $223,100.

AiIONG the manv duties of the president of the Inlemational Concaten' ated Order of Hoo-Hoo is coodinating adivilies among lhe scores of r+ gional clubs. At a recent policy meeiing of th€ Los Angeles club were: reqionalv.p. Ed Gavollo, Bruca KelV, L.A. dub pres. Bobeil Golding, inteihaional'club presidenl Dave Blabn, and lo&l club past pres. Doug Wllb. The fratemal order of lumbermen b over 100 years old.

Eagle Puts Suppliers On Notice

Asking for a level playing field, Eagle Hardware & Garden president Richard Takata sent a letter to suppliers requesting they tell the Seattle, Wa., chain of all special prices and payment tenns being offered to other retailers.

Takata called special deals given o some stores by suppliers an "unfair competitive situation among retailers." The letter also noted antitrust laws require suppliers to offer the same prices to everybody. Takata said the letter was not provoked by any single incident or problem with suppliers.

Although no stores were named, The Seattle Times pointed out "as a competitive strategy the letter seems perfectly clear, in light of the growing price war between Eagle and the new kid on the block, home improvement powerhouse Home Depot."

NAWLA To Preview New Film

"Circle of Life," a documentary film produced by the Temperate Forest Foundation, will premiere at the North American Wholesale Lumber Association's annual meeting in Tarpon Springs, Fl., May 2-5.

Designed to show the meshing 0f culture, economic activity and ecological support systsns, the film is part of a series being produced by the Beaverton, Or., foundation with funding from wood industry firms and individuals.

New Hardwood Market Letter

A new publication for North American hardwood lumber markets is being published by Rick Barrett, managing editor, Hardwood Publishing Co., Chadotte, N.C.

"Hardwood Review Update isan expansion of our infonnation publications: Weekly Hardwood Review covering pricing and markets in depth on a weekly basis and Hardwood Review Export for hardwood exports," Barrett said. "With this newsletter, manufacturers of furniture, cabinetry, flooring, and millwork can keep up with lumber market trends and better forecast raw material prices for upcoming jobs."

OSU Tests Siberian Lumber

Tests of Siberian 2x4 lumber will be conducted by Oregon State University to determine how the wood compares to domestic species.

Robert Ethington, OSU Forestry professor and former head of OSU's Forest Products laboratory, hopes the research will lead to grading methods that will allow use of Russian lumber in structural applications. When the research project is complete, findings will be shared with lumber agencies.

Contaminated Russian Lumber

Sone lumber from the former Soviet Union is contaminated with radiation, according to a report in the Abendblatt, a Hamburg, Germany, newspaper.

After discovering lumber exported from the area of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster was heavily contaminated, officials began checking for fallout in other lumber. Exports from other parts of the country are also believed to be contaminated, according to the newspaper reporl

San Diego Helps Baja Project

Dixieline, Ace Hardware and Home Base are among San Diego, Ca., companies, residents and organizations helping to build 100 dwelling units in a new 180 acre corlmunity planned by the Mexican govemment to house victims of the winter floods in Tijuana, Mexico.

Called Valle Verde, the community is being built with recycled or new building supplies. Building Materials Recycling is gathering construction site leftovers for the project. Donations were collected on Earth Day, Apil 22, at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego. Tijuana Mayor Hector Osuna arranged for a Mexican trucking company to carry the building materials aooss &e border.

San Diego Prototype Store

HomeBase is building a prototype 40,000 sq. ft. drive-through lumber facility in San Diego, Cl., in conjunction with a 101,000 sq. ft. store and a 25,000 sq. ft. garden center. The complex will be located in McGrath Center, near Interstate 805, Clairemont Mesa Blvd. and Shawline St

Tagger Sting Catches Stores

Murrieta True Value Hardware and HomeBase stores in Murrieta, Ca, received misdemeanor citations for allegedly selling aerosol paint concainers to a person under the age of 18 in a sting operation to keep taggers from painting graffiti.

An officer and a l5-year-old police explorer from the San Jacinto Police Departnent visited various businesses to try to purchase the spray cans, Ix)lice said. When a spray can was sold to the minor, a ticket was issued to the store, said police.

Based on a state law prohibiting giving or selling spray paint to minors, the citations will be handled by the Riverside County district attorney's office.

Denny Hess and Red Anderson. lnventory will be tracked with a computer system develo@ by Anderson and Bonomini. WiO the help of a local programmer, they are modifying a commercially available program.

Bracut Adds Retail Division

Branching out into re0ail, Bracut International, an Arcata, Ca., wholesaler and remanufacturer, is preparing for a Jtne 26 grand opening of its new venture.

A new 9,900 sq. ft. building to house the new retnil division, The Mill Yard, has been constructed at the Bracut International site on the Arcata to Eureka highway. The facility being readily seen and approached from Highway 101 is partly responsible for the birth of the new operation. Bracut general manager Red Anderson laughs as he explains, "People have stopped and asked about buying lumber from us for years and now they can."

All types of lumber, plus moulding, fencing, plywood and building supply related materials will be sold. The retail division will also sell complete house packages.

Kenny Bonomini has been named manager of The Mill Yard division. Bracut International is owned bv

NEW STRUCTURE built to house The Mill Yard, a retail division of Bracul Intemalional, Arcata,.Ca., is located on oompany propeily alongskle Highway 101.

Barr Acquires Seventh Store

Barr Lumber Co., Los Alamitos, Ca., acquired Saddleback Lumber Co., Lake Forest, Ca., as its seventh location April 18.

Tom Crossman is managing the acquisition which includes 15,000 sq. ft. of buildings on a three acre site. Business is a 50/50 consumer and contractor mix.

Fonner owners Bill and Don Dickenson also own Dickenson Lumber and Hardware, [,a Habra, Ca.

Union Lumber Changes Focus

Faced with fewer sales and soaring prices, Union Lumber Co., Marysville, Ca., the oldest retail lumber business in the state and perhaps the oldest west of the Mississippi, is de-emphasizing the lumber side of its business, adding a full line hardware section, lawn and garden and paint deparunents.

The door to the drive-through lumber yard has been closed and the sore remodeled to accommodate the new focus. "We had a tough decision," said Harry Cheim, son of owners Heiman and Kaye Cheim, "to either tear down the building and build a new one or renovate this one."

The firm traces its history back to Hudson and Co., founded in 1852 by W. K. Hudson and Sanuel Harryman. In 1854, Harryman sold his share to W. H. andG. B. Pepper. A. P. Willey, Elisha Scott and Thadeus Dean took over in 1857, changing the name to Willey, Dean and Co. P. P. Cain soon bought Dean's share, Hudson renrrned in 1858 and the firm was renaned Hudson, Willey and Cain. Incorporated as the Union Lumber Co. in 1864, the operation was sold in 1873 to

Heiman Cheim, Harry's great-grandfather and an emigrant from Prussia. The present owrers acquired the store from the Cheim estate in 1970. It has no connection with the old Union Lumber Co., Fort Bragg, Ca., that is now part of Georgia-Pacific.

The store has been on the comer of 4th and B streets since 1948 when it moved into a converted feed stme after a fire destroyed the original location on the opposite corner. The Marysville Post Office parking lot is on the original site.