Personal accounts documented by owners Bryan Hayes and Todd Hayes of Sanibel Air & Electric
With storm season approaching, it’s critical to stay alert and prepared. On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian, a powerful category 5 storm, brought unprecedented challenges to the residents of Southwest Florida, causing destruction and leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Sanibel Air and Electric, dedicated to providing essential services to its customers, witnessed firsthand the impact of this destructive storm.
Our crew members braved the aftermath to help ensure that our customers received the assistance they needed during this trying time. In this article, written by owners and brothers Todd and Bryan Hayes, they share their experiences, struggles, and triumphs during and after Hurricane Ian. They also discuss how homeowners can learn from this experience and how we can all better prepare for future catastrophic events.
Join us as we reflect and explore the lessons learned in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
After Hurricane Ian, what types of damage did you see to Electrical and HVAC appliances in and outside of homes on Sanibel?
For the electrical side of things, we primarily saw the main electrical service panel that feeds the entire house damaged by flood water. Even in homes built to the current code and elevated, the equipment was primarily ground level. So the main disconnect and meter that is the connection point from LCEC to the home are only 3 to 4 feet off the ground in most situations. Very few island areas saw less than 3 to 4 feet of water — equipment needed to be replaced on 90% of the homes on the island. Whether the equipment was replaced or not, it was required for a licensed electrician to deem the equipment safe before the City of Sanibel approved the power to be restored to the home.
As you can imagine, everyone was scrambling to find an electrician to sign off or replace the equipment. It was overwhelming since we are the only island-based electrical contractors. Everyone’s first thought, whether they were previous customers or not, was to call Sanibel Air and Electric. We worked through it and were honest with customers that we could not provide service to everyone within a reasonable amount of time.
For the air conditioning side of things, most of the damage was to the outside condensing units. For a lot of older homes, these sit right on the ground. If the air conditioning units had been flooded with saltwater, they needed to be replaced. Even on elevated stands, we found that the condensers were damaged by flying debris and saltwater intrusion caused by wind-blown saltwater getting into these units and damaging the electrical components. Also a lot of corrosion to the outdoor units as well.
What surprises, if any, did the team encounter while inspecting job sites?
When inspecting job sites, we found all sorts of surprises. As you can imagine, a lot of debris–cars, boats, refrigerators, etc.- was not from the customer’s house but from a neighbor’s house that ended up in or on their property. The mud was also extremely slippery and sometimes made it difficult to work.
We also found that owners would request us to look at their homes when no remediation work had been done yet. We encountered water-soaked carpets, furniture, drywall, etc. We couldn’t even go inside with all that moisture in the home because the mold had already taken over.
In the beginning, the most traumatizing thing was just the destruction and amount of trash lining the sides of the road. While driving by the temporary trash holding station, the garbage was piled 40 to 50 feet high.
What measures did Sanibel Air & Electric take to ensure safety of their employees while out in the field?
First, we ensured they had proper footwear (rubber boots), making them less likely to slip in the mud and wet areas around the island.
We adhered to the island curfew and would not let any of our employees be out working after dark. It was unsafe to walk around at night with all the debris in people’s yards. We also advised all our employees to stay on the main roadways and not pull over on the shoulder. We had to repair or replace 30 vehicle tires within the first four weeks of being on the island. We saw everything from nails, glass, and sharp pieces of metal found in the tires. Frequent tire inspections also so they wouldn’t have a blowout while driving off the island at high speeds.
Were there things homeowners could have done to help prevent or reduce damage to their ACs and Electrical appliances?
The only thing that homeowners could have done was elevate their AC and electrical equipment. Even so, the flying debris and saltwater spray damaged the equipment during Hurricane Ian.
What are the best practices homeowners or property managers can do to help be more prepared for hurricanes in the future?
Again, homeowners and property managers could only elevate the equipment so it would be less affected by the storm. Ensuring that any outside equipment is strapped or tied down per code is also essential. Every outdoor condenser should be anchored with hurricane straps. We only use aluminum hurricane straps compared to our competitors that use steel. The steel straps will rust out during normal conditions within a few years. The aluminum straps will last longer than the system itself. Stainless steel screws are also very important. All of the hurricane straps we use are rated for 150 mph winds.
Were there any special moments or memories you would like to share?
There were a lot of highs and lows. It was very difficult losing everything in our office for over 20 years. Not thinking the hurricane would hit us, we did not remove anything. We lost tens of thousands of dollars of new equipment, parts, furniture, computers, files, and personal items. It was overwhelming to think we had to start again with what we had built over the last 35 years.
We had countless customers so appreciative of anything we could do for them. Especially because so many of them were out of the state, and this is their second home. They felt helpless being so far away, and the only information on the condition of their home came from our technicians in the field. We sent back pictures so they could get a sense of what was going on.
On the flip side, some customers were upset because they felt so helpless, and we couldn’t fix their problems as soon as they wanted us to. It was a very stressful situation for all of us. Going through such devastation, which none of us have been through before. Making decisions that you were sure of was always correct. We constantly adapted as we found things that did or didn’t work.
One of the most touching experiences was the day we boated out to the island with friends and family to start the remediation of our office. We had personal friends, our children’s friends, Sanibel Air and Electric staff, and even Wink News tagged along to do a story about our family business legacy. It was extremely sad and touching all at the same time. A whirlwind of emotions all of us were going through.
At the time of this post, we have yet to fully restore our office building on Sanibel. We are currently so busy trying to rebuild Sanibel that there is just no time for that quite yet. We hope to start the rebuild process this summer and reopen our office on the island. We have so many customers that like to stop by and sign maintenance agreements, drop off payments, pick up filters for their systems, etc. We miss that connection with our customers, which we can’t get while operating out of our office in Fort Myers. It’s just not the same, but hopefully, by the end of 2023, we will be able to connect with our customers on the island.
Sanibel Air & Electric has been servicing our community for 35 years, and will continue to do so for many more. We are proud to be a part of this loving Southwest Florida island community. #SWFLStrong
As always, thanks for reading and stay safe.
Todd, Bryan and the Sanibel Air & Electric team
We’re here for you. 239-395-2665 or email cooling@sanibelair.com
