Is Your Site Protected Against Water Damage? Here’s What You Need to Know

Please Note: This article was originally published in March, 2021. All resources and practical advice showcased below have been updated as of December, 2025.

Water damage continues to be significant property loss driver for HIROC and FM insured Hospitals, representing the most frequent cause of losses.

Your property insurers, HIROC and FM, have collaborated to provide effective resources and guidelines for creating, maintaining, and enacting your liquid damage emergency response plan. This advice is based on learning from our history of losses, scientific research, and our engineering knowledge. 

It is critical for your facility to not only develop a comprehensive liquid leak emergency response plan, but to also ensure the key points below are considered. This will ensure the time it takes to detect, respond, and recover from a water leak is significantly reduced.

Although there are many components of a comprehensive plan, these are top points that are critical but often missed:

1. Create a list of valves in the facility that includes main water shutoffs, heating/cooling systems, sprinkler control valves, etc. Map out the valves and label them clearly, including a description of the area controlled by each valve. Exercise these valves annually to ensure they are not seized when they are needed.
    
2. Designate emergency response personnel for all shifts, including those authorized to shut off valves. The role and responsibilities of each emergency response team member should be clearly identified. Contact information for all emergency response team members should be documented within the plan.
    
3. Regular training and mock drills should be performed (at least annually) to ensure the plan is enacted accordingly, and that all members involved are well trained in their roles. Consider providing additional training sessions if changes to the assigned emergency response team members occur.
    
4. Have a list of pre-approved restoration contractors available and on call, as well as readily accessible abatement equipment to respond to the leak. Include this information in the plan.
    
5. Provide liquid leak detection in areas where sensitive or critical equipment is present (such as MRI, CT, and Linear Accelerator machines, or in critical utility system areas). Flow monitoring devices can also be used to detect abnormal water flow which may indicate a leak in the building’s water system. The sooner the leak is detected, the sooner the leak can be stopped.

FM and HIROC are here to support your local sites in creating and applying an effective liquid damage emergency response plan. Additional technical guidance is available for review in FM Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet 1-24, Protection Against Liquid Damage in Light-Hazard Occupancies.

Please reach out to HIROC's Jean Asuncion, Senior Account Executive, at [email protected], for further resources and property loss prevention guidance. 
 

By Christopher Brandonisio, Account Consultant at FM.