Business fires can bankrupt a company. There’s a lot at stake in business fires. The company’s loss may not just be a building and the contents. It may interrupt the income stream. If so, then the financial impact may extend to the employees.
The typical business is insured for loss of property and usually the interruption of business operations. But, the standard business insurance policy doesn’t necessarily cover the employees who lose their jobs due to the fire. The fire in Cleveland, Oklahoma at ICES Corporation, a aerospace parts manufacturer is an example.
Right now, about 35 people don’t have a job to go to come Monday. Mayor Brian Torres said the airplane parts manufacturer is one of the town’s largest employers.”
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The plant has grown and is considered an important part of the Cleveland community; it’s where many people in Cleveland have worked for nearly two decades.
Now, 35 hard workers don’t know what the future holds.
Business fires damage the most valuable assets of the company, its hardworking people. The sudden loss of a job is financially devastating. But, it is not just the loss of a pay check that hurts. When you spend 15 -20 years of your life working as a team with other similarly like-minded people, the loss of your job is like losing a part of the family.
The owner is waiting on a determination as to the insurance and a settlement to determine whether the facility will be rebuilt or not. A satisfactory insurance claim payment may be the difference in the company reopening and the staff being able to return to their jobs. Still, even with prompt payment of the insurance claim, it will take time to restore what was formerly there.
Fires like this one happen, it is part of life we don’t like, but it is there nonetheless. This fire started while two workers were doing their job. The fire marshall reportedly said, “a malfunctioning floor buffer ignited a chemical that workers were using to clean the floor”. It is the reason for insurance coverage. You never know when or how a fire may start. Insurance is for those unexpected occurrences businesses sometime must face. The hard working staff must also endure the damages and the loss.