It was the year of heavy rain showers, summer storm Poly and code orange. The severe weather did not go unnoticed at Staas & Bergmans Dental Practice in Den Bosch. Hundreds of liters of water flowed like a waterfall into the practice after the ceiling collapsed.
Last August, Tristan Staas was speechless when his practice was completely flooded during a heavy rain shower. This was due to the drainage of rainwater from the apartment complex above the practice. The drain pipe bends above the ceiling in practice, which is exactly where the drain came loose.
“We were standing by the window discussing it when someone came to get me. I thought it would just be a few drops, but it soon turned out to be a serious leak. It’s shocking when you see that. It looked like the Niagara Falls.”
One of the practice employees immediately turned off the power and then all patients and employees were evacuated. “The operation was canceled in two or three patients, because surgery was also being done at that time. Because it was dark, we walked outside with the lights on our phone.”
“Now the damage is around 100,000 euros, which is actually not too bad if you look at all the equipment.”
The fire brigade soon came to the practice with professional dryers to remove most of the water. All practice employees then went to work drying and cleaning everything. “Our biggest fear was that the equipment had broken down. Fortunately, the electricity of the dental chairs was immediately dried after the leak,” says Staas.
Of the 25 chairs, 2 chairs no longer worked and that was a relief for him. “These are expensive chairs and the availability is 6 to 9 months. If all the chairs were broken, we would have had to remain closed for a very long time. Now the damage is around 100,000 euros and that is actually not too bad if you look at all the equipment.”
“It was fantastic team building, but hopefully a one-off.”
Due to the quick action of the fire brigade, Staas and his employees, the damage was reasonably limited, according to the dentist. The practice was flooded on Friday morning, but patients were able to return to the practice on Monday. “We dried everything on Saturday and set it up again on Sunday. It was fantastic team building, but hopefully a one-off.”
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