Hugh Inglis

Hugh Inglis, Senior Vice President of PB's Alltech subsidiary, first became acquainted with the firm as part of another company—his own, to be exact. He was co-owner and president of Downeast Management Associates, which served as a subcontractor on PB's first inspection contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1995. Hugh was later asked to join PB and, nearly eight years later, he remains an integral part of PB's work on behalf of FEMA, serving as Project Manager for the Housing Inspection Services project.

The project has become vital to FEMA's efforts over the last two years, considering the devastation brought by hurricanes to Florida in 2004 and to the Gulf Coast in 2005. As project manager, Hugh directs PB's efforts in assembling, training and deploying teams of inspectors, field incident managers and computer operations personnel to provide housing inspection services in presidentially declared disaster areas.

These housing inspectors perform damage assessments of real and personal property for both owners and renters so that they can quickly receive the funds necessary for repairs. Teams are mobilized within 24-hours notice and inspect damaged homes through handheld computers that send data to a central processing center.

"It has been a challenging and gratifying experience since I joined PB; we have a great team and this has been a fantastic project," Hugh says. "This is a project where the rewards come at the end of the day, and you realize that you've made a difference in the lives of many people."

When hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the Gulf Coast in August and September 2005, FEMA asked PB to double its contracted capacity, from 7,500 inspections to 15,000 per day—with a maximum of 18,000 in one day. Since Hurricane Katrina first made landfall, PB inspectors have performed more than 1 million inspections.

"This has taken a tremendous effort on the part of our staff," Hugh says. "Their ability to accomplish what they did is a testimony to the project team, which worked seven days a week."

Hugh says the biggest challenge that PB faced in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was performing a service that was not part of the original scope of the contract. When FEMA asked PB if it could help register applicants for financial disaster aid, the firm deployed 700 inspectors to evacuee shelters throughout the Gulf Coast—"a major accomplishment," he says. And although things have slowed considerably compared to the turmoil of the 2005 hurricane season, PB continues to provide services helping the clean-up efforts in the region.

Bill Roman, President of PB Facilities, says, "Hugh has done an unbelievable job managing the FEMA Housing Inspection Services project for nearly six years, especially during the past two hurricane seasons. Over the space of six weeks, he successfully managed an inspector staff that grew from a half-dozen to more than 2,400 while working in the most devastated areas along the Gulf Coast."

Hugh has a long history with FEMA that extends beyond his current role. He served as Project Manager for the agency's development of new standards for the construction, outfitting, transportation, installation and maintenance of manufactured homes. In addition, he helped to develop FEMA's Condominium Inspection Program, ensuring that condominiums located in floodplain areas comply with the agency's Flood Insurance Program.

Hugh says PB Alltech seeks self-motivated individuals who are interested in helping others in need. More information on PB's work for the FEMA Housing Inspection Program is available at www.pbdisasterservices.com or on the scrolling bar of the PBWorld home page.