£1.6m Fire Insurance Project Delivery

The Challenge  

A 61-apartment retirement development in Bournemouth suffered a major fire in December 2021. The building consists of five storeys and a fire broke out at one of the top floor apartments, resulting in extensive damage to the entire roof and top floor.  

Solutions were required to:  

• Urgently restore power supplies to the site. 

• Make the site safe to carry out the required work.  
• Prepare a full specification and project manage the building reinstatement works.  

The Solution  

Innovus was instructed by the development’s property management company in January 2022 to carry out the work. We immediately worked closely with the power company and local MP to speed up the restoration of the electricity supplies. Following the success of this, the loss adjuster handling the insurance claim for the building repair work appointed us as the principal designer and contract administrator. 

Innovus Building Surveyor Manager Tim Holland says: “The whole works were incredibly complex and needed careful project management. We used a two-phase approach. The first was to isolate several of the building areas to ensure they were safe for some of the residents to return. We also installed emergency lighting, reinstated the fire doors, and installed fire stopping measures.”

The second phase included digitally measured surveys, structural investigation, and design works before the preparation of the work specification. RMS Property Maintenance was appointed to carry out reinstatement works. Jeff Steel MRICS was the appointed contracted administrator, supported by surveyors who carried out bi-weekly visits to inspect the works and health and safety on site. Bespoke reports were also issued to all stakeholders to ensure all parties were kept fully informed.  

Tim adds: “There was extensive damage to several apartments, which meant full reinstatement works to the severely affected apartments including new kitchens and bathrooms. The roof also needed to be replaced to a large section of the building, and top hat scaffolding was in place during the replacement works to ensure that the development remained watertight.” 

The Result 

The entire £1.6m project was successfully completed within the agreed timeframe.  The entire project was a success due to diligent project management and regular communications with everyone involved, including the contractors, property management company, and loss adjuster. It was a complex project but one we were proud to bring our extensive project management and stakeholder relationship experience to.