Introduction

The wildfire destruction in Maui has been difficult to watch. So many homes and businesses were destroyed, and lives lost. In order to respond to this event, here on this podcast I invited Sean Scott to come and share his expertise with disaster recovery. Sean is a second-generation restoration contractor and disaster recovery consultant who has spent over 44 years in the construction and fire restoration industry. Most of his experience has been involved in the rebuilding of well over 10,000 homes and businesses damaged by fires, floods, storms, and other natural or man-made disaster events. Sean has witnessed first-hand the struggles people go through to rebuild their lives and how daunting this process can be, especially for those who have lost their home or become displaced.   

This became more evident in 2003 and again in 2007, when wildfires swept through Southern California destroying over 5,000 homes and damaging countless others. It was in the weeks and months following these events that  he watched many survivors evolve into disaster victims as they didn't know what to do or where to turn for help. As a result, Sean embarked on a mission to write a simple easy-to-read disaster recovery road-map to walk survivors step-by-step through the recovery process and raise awareness of the many pitfalls that accompany post-disaster scenarios. In this podcast we do a quick dive into many aspects of disaster recovery that can trip people up as they try to reestablish their lives and livelihoods.

Since its release in 2009, Sean's book The Red Guide to Recovery - Resource Handbook for Disaster Survivors has been adopted by emergency management agencies, fire departments, Native tribes, relief organizations, and fortune 500 companies across the U.S. 
This episode is sponsored by AshBritt, a national rapid-response emergency management and logistics company. Celebrating its 30th year, AshBritt has led response efforts following 60 federally declared disasters across 30 states and has conducted more than 400 missions, successfully serving over 600 clients. AshBritt is the trusted emergency management contractor for cities, counties, states and for federal agencies, including the Department of Defense where AshBritt holds a pre-position debris management contract which covers 25 U.S. states.  

Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.