Restoration contracts seen as booming trend

October 31, 2018

Massive wildfires across the West. Floods in the Maritimes. Hurricanes and tornados—even in Ontario. Earthquakes off the B.C. coast. The litany of natural disasters seen this year has spurred demand for residential restoration work and some say climate change will keep such contracts growing.
The last five years have marked an increase in disasters, from the Fort McMurray and B.C. wildfires to full-scale floods, ice storms and hurricanes across the country and devastating tornadoes that ripped through Ottawa neighbourhoods and cast much of the city into darkness. That event alone is expected to top $100 million in property insurance claims, according to Canadian Underwriter, an insurance industry newsletter. The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire tallied $10 billion in claims, while floods over the past year in Central and Eastern Canada cost more than $3 billion in repairs, according to insurance industry reports.
Restoration specialists have had their hands full as many Canadian communities have been on high alert.
The restoration industry as a whole is worth over $210 billion in North America and demand is expected to increase due to the growing intensity of disasters, aging infrastructure and the increase in water damage, according to FirstOnSite Restoration—the largest independent disaster restoration company in Canada. It has offices coast-to-coast.
Demand has increased to the point that FirstOnSite is conducting a national hiring campaign to fill its contracts. Experienced residential and commercial contractors interested in working in the restoration field can contact FirstOnsite through its web page at www.firstonsi.ca