It was late as the plane banked toward the airport runway. I peered out the window to see a wide, winding black strip – which I later learned was the swollen Cumberland River – bisecting Nashville.

More than four years in the making, the new IICRC S520 mold standard is now on the street. Before I get into the improvements, enhancements and other official stuff about the standard, I want to share some personal thoughts and give you a bit of the “inside scoop”

A few years ago I was asked by the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) to review their International Existing Building Code. They were interested in my take on the section related to ventilation and mechanical systems, and wondered if I would provide comment from a property restoration and remediation contractor’s perspective.

An electrical fire breaks out in the attic over the kitchen. Firefighters quickly respond and chop a hole through the roof to ventilate and douse the flames.

By now, everyone providing water-damage restoration has surely faced the uninsured mold loss. The old joke, “No insurance? No mold!” isn’t funny anymore.