Emergencies

Maintenance Emergencies Preparing For Emergencies Fire Alarm

During normal business hours (M-F, 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM PT), please call Community Care at (949) 450-0202.

In the event this occurs after hours, calling (949) 450-0202 will go to our On-Call service to route to the on-call manager.


General Principles

  • These processes are for emergencies only: These are for emergency situations that will lead to more damage if not addressed urgently in the moment. 
  • A lightbulb that’s out should not follow these steps. 
  • A broken interior door or window should not follow these steps. 
  • Prevent further damage: We should act as quickly as possible in emergencies to mitigate nearby unit impacts (e.g. if water is pouring onto the floor in a unit, call the property management company hotline immediately to dispatch.
  • Avoid unnecessary costs: We should not be spending unnecessary money on dispatches (e.g. dispatching a plumber for stagnant water in the garage from a recent cleaning)

Water Leaking From My Ceiling (Resident Actions)

  1. Go to your circuit breaker (electrical panel in your unit) and shut off any lights affected in the area to prevent any electrical shorts
  2. Check with the unit upstairs, at times there may be two units above with adjacent washer/dryer units, so check the units next door to the unit above. If you make contact with the resident upstairs, take a look together at the washer/dryer/toilet/plumbing to determine if that’s the source. Note that in situations where the washer/dryer is the culprit, the plastic washer pans are most likely cracked and may not always at times be hooked up. 
  3. Document everything with pictures.
  4. Clean up what you can with towels and mops. If there’s still water leaking, grab a large container to catch the water. 
  5. Call the property management company and they’ll send out a restoration team. 
  6. Put a work order through the site and attach the pictures pictures, documentation will be key. 
  7. Contact your home insurance and notify them of the incident. They’ll work with the home insurance agents upstairs. Have your neighbors upstairs exchange insurance information with you.

Expectations of Property Management Company: Water Backup or Leak

  • Is the caller in the unit where this water leak is originating?
  1. Yes – Is water spilling out onto the floor?
  2. No – See “Resident Disclosure” message below.
  3. Not yet – See “Resident Disclosure” message below.
  4. Yes – Immediately dispatch Plumbing Company or Advanced Restoration
  5. Note: If possible, have the resident get a bucket or container and offset the water into another working drain. Have them see if anyone in their household can knock on their stack’s doors to make them aware they need to stop using their water.
  6. Contact Plumbing/Advanced Restoration ASAP and notify the Board
  7. No – Is it coming from a floor above them?
  8. Yes – Contact the unit above via resident directory. Have the resident knock on the door above them to notify the resident. Immediately contact Plumbing/Advanced Restoration, and notify Victor or Board member.
  9. e.g. 213 has a leak in ceiling, check with 313
  10. e.g. 213 has a leak from their washing machine, check with 213

Resident Disclosure: On Call reps must inform the customer the following:

  1. Owners – “Per the CC&Rs as an owner, you are responsible for any plumbing issues involving pipes and fixtures within their own unit. By calling Plumbing to your unit, the individual at fault as determined by the insurance agent will be charged the cost of the plumbing job unless it is determined by Plumbing that the clog is located in the stack’s shared pipes. If your unit floods into the below unit, you or your home insurance will be responsible for any restoration costs and damages that occur. If you consent, we will dispatch Plumbing. If you choose to do so yourself, you will be wholly responsible for the cost and for submitting reimbursement with proof of pipe length to indicate the clog originated from the shared pipes.
  2. Tenants – If in an emergency DO NOT WAIT FOR OWNER AUTHORIZATION – it needs to be dispatched immediately. Say the following: “As a tenant, your owner is responsible for any plumbing issues involving pipes and fixtures within their own unit. By calling Plumbing to your unit, you will be charged the cost of the plumbing job unless it is determined by Plumbing that the clog is located in the stack’s shared pipes. Please contact your owner to inform them as well”. Always contact and inform the owner regardless of whether the tenant did or not.

Residents: Working with your insurance company

  1. If there are damages or reimbursement, please document everything. 
  2. If the property management company dispatched any vendor, and your unit was the origin, that dispatched vendor cost will be included in your assessment (eg if your dues are $550 and the restoration vendor was $4100, then your dues will be $4650. If you need to file a reimbursement claim through your insurance, the property management company, once they receive the invoice, should be able to provide you a copy. 


Information on Preparedness in the City of San José:

http://www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?NID=751

Recommended Emergency Preparedness Kits

Go-kit (3-day minimum)

  • Water, 5. fld. oz. minimum
  • Food – Protein or Datrex 3600 calorie emergency food bar
  • Flashlight with spare batteries
  • Mylar blanket
  • First aid kid, including aspirin
  • Portable radio with batteries
  • Whistle
  • Cash-small denominations
  • 3-days’ worth of essential medicines
  • Extra eyeglasses
  • Walking shoes
  • Road map
  • Cloth hand towel
  • Toilet paper
  • Important documents:
  1. Photo ID (drivers license, etc.)
  2. Insurance docs
  3. Medical records
  4. Phone numbers

Note: Make sure to rotate the water, medicine, and batteries in your kit.

Home kit (7-day minimum)

Essentials:

  • Water – 1 gal. per person per day
  • Food – packaged, canned, special diet (non-electric can opener)
  • Plates, glasses, silverware
  • Flashlight w/ spare batteries
  • Blankets or sleeping bags
  • Tent or shelter
  • Change of clothing
  • First aid kid and manual
  • Portable radio, flashlight w/ batteries
  • 7 days’ worth of medicines
  • Extra eyeglasses
  • Food, water, and restraints for pets
  • Cash-small denominations

Nice-to-have items:

  • Sanitation supplies: soap, trash bags, toothbrush and paste, feminine hygiene products
  • Cooking items: plates, utensils, cups, pots, camping stove, aluminum foil, spices
  • Tools and supplies: axe, shovel, toolbox, duct tape, gloves, knife/razor blades, paper and pen, plastic dropcloths, rope


Assume there is a fire even if you do not see smoke in your immediate area.

What should I do if I hear the fire alarm go off?

  • Find all individuals in your unit and Immediately exit the building for safe measure, the courtyard does not count.
  • NEVER go back to retrieve personal belongings.
  • Move away from the front of the building to allow the fire fighters and Apparatus to access the building. 
  • If there is an incident on the upper floors, the area underneath is the hazard zone and that is where you will be injured by falling glass and debris.
  • If it was a test alarm, we typically will send out a message prior to a test.

The fire alarm system is designed to give occupants an early warning when there is a smoke or fire condition in your building. NEVER ignore the alarms just because your area is clear, there may be a fire or smoke condition on another floor that the sensitive detection devices have alerted you to

Pre-Planning:

  • Have an exit strategy, know two ways out, such as another stairway, an emergency exit or a fire escape.
  • IDENTIFY the nearest Fire Extinguisher to your Unit. Knowing the location of the nearest fire extinguisher will allow quicker reaction to a fire that is still at a controllable size.  Do Not engage a fire that has grown beyond your ability to control with a fire extinguisher.
  • CLOSE ALL DOORS and bedroom doors to control the spread of fire. Any open doors will allow a fire to spread prior to the arrival of the Fire Department.
  • NEVER use an elevator in ANY building once the fire alarm is sounding. Use the stairs.

In the background:

  • Magnetized doors will close and will not magnetize and stay open until after the fire alarm is reset Please don’t prop the doors open as it’s meant in real situations to prevent the fire from spreading. Once the doors are re-magnetized it’s also a little tricky to align the magnet with the pad at the right angles. 
  • Board members will go to the fire control room to determine the origin of the alarm.
  • SJ Fire Department will arrive to triage and inspect the area.
  • Trojan Systems will also be contacted to reset the system if it was a false alarm.