‘The firefighters broke into our roof and removed a window to flood the building. That’s what they had to do to contain the fire.’ Taank Optometrists, an award-winning practice in Cambridge, occupies a building in a row of terraced shops. On July 15, 2019, late at night, a fire started in an adjacent electrical and hardware store. As the fire grew and threatened to roar out of control firefighters flooded Taank Optometrists to prevent the blaze spreading.
Anjana Taank, owner and head optometrist of the practice, was informed when the fire broke out. ‘The fire was so huge that the firefighters just had no option,’ explained Taank. ‘They flooded our building from the roof and through the upper-floor windows for 12 hours or more. It contained the fire very effectively, but ultimately left us with severe water damage on every floor.’
After the fire next-door had been quelled, Taank was still unable to enter the site for some time due to concerns about structural integrity, something that served to only amplify her feelings of shock and worry at having found out about the damage. When she did eventually enter with firefighters in tow, Taank was greeted by a completely wrecked building with water still raining down from the ceiling. Equipment had been damaged by falling debris and ceiling tiles, explained Taank: ‘It was evident at that point that the damage was extensive, and we were going to have to completely rebuild, which would take some time.’
Difficult circumstances can often break a functioning business, but Taank and her team have approached this tragedy with positivity by keeping the practice running in a temporary structure. In the immediate aftermath the team were buoyed by the community’s response; they received cards, flowers and messages wishing them a speedy recovery. With the practice damaged so extensively there was no option of continuing operations from the building, but thankfully a local church provided a room the team could use as a temporary base. A phone and wi-fi was all the team needed to resume operations and they began calling patients to inform them of the situation.
Warm and welcoming
After a few days Taank’s team moved into a temporary office where they then immediately put their minds to their location problem: ‘We’re a really strong team, so after the initial shock and upset we just got together and started making plans about how to rebuild and get on with things.’ Building work was clearly going to take a while and Taank’s husband provided the idea for a solution, suggesting that the team try operating out of a pop-up store during the rebuild. Pop-ups are increasingly popular as retail solutions, providing flexible and temporary premises while not compromising on comfort.
Being able to set up promptly in the vicinity of the original practice without having to worry about timescales or comfort was the primary concern for Taank. After contacting a selection of temporary structure companies, she was able to source a bespoke branded portacabin to fit these specifications.
The portacabin was promptly delivered to a piece of unused land at the back of the damaged site before an expert was called in to make the space comfortable for patients. Taank said: ‘It was really important to us that the space was warm and welcoming so we used an interior designer, installed air conditioning and found furniture to suit. Once you’re in here now, you can barely even tell you’re in a pop-up.’
The interior of the pop-up
Plumbing, electricity and broadband have all been fitted, with shutters used to secure the building when it is not in use. The temporary structure had to undergo an NHS inspection and fit certain specifications for its consulting rooms. This presented another issue to consider, but ultimately caused no problems.
‘We’ve been open for a couple of weeks now and it’s been very well received; our patients like the space and the fact that we’re still in the same location,’ explained Taank. Walking the line between not radically upsetting the status quo for patients and providing a whole new setting is difficult, and the importance of patients liking the new portacabin cannot be overstated. Something like a pop-up is hard to get right, especially because of the clinical nature of an optical practice, and the execution being
perfect was vital to navigating a difficult time for Taank Optometrists.
Silver linings
Identifying the positives in a situation as shocking as Taank’s can be difficult, but positivity is essential in turning around bad circumstances. In Taank’s case, the opportunity to replace equipment and acquire new capabilities has been an unexpected boon: ‘We lost all of our equipment when the practice was flooded but it’s actually given us an opportunity to fit the pop-up with all the latest technology which we can transfer back to the main building when it’s done.’ The practice has purchased an OCT machine, which it did not have before, and has upgraded its Humphrey visual field analyser. ‘We purchased a brand-new coffee machine too, which was actually the first thing we bought, and attended Silmo to choose the latest new eyewear for our clients.’
Flooding might also have destroyed patient records along with equipment, had Taank not had the data backed up prior to the incident. ‘Our data was all backed up so we’ve been able to recover that with no problems,’ Taank commented. This could have presented perhaps the most damaging loss to the practice and Taank warned: ‘Everyone needs to worry about something like this happening, because you never quite know when it’s going to happen to you. Make sure you plan for disaster recovery.’
Building work is now under way to rejuvenate the flooded practice, but Taank and her team can rest assured that their planning and positivity has protected their patients from major disruption.