Five things, in order.
Someone picks up, at any hour.
The desk says: "Emergency desk, this is rushproof, the automated assistant. This call is written down." It is an automated assistant, and it says so.
Safety comes first.
It asks whether anyone is in danger. For fire, gas, a medical situation or someone trapped, it tells you to call 9-1-1 first.
It takes your unit and a number.
So the right people can reach you. It reads the details back so you know they were heard.
It calls the building's people for you.
Water rings the building's plumber while you are still on the line. No heat, sewage, power, a door that won't lock or a fire panel rings the on-call manager. It keeps going down the building's list until someone accepts.
You get a text when someone accepts.
Before any text, it asks whether your phone can get texts, and it only texts you if you say yes. On a leak it can also text you the shut-off steps. Reply STOP to any text to stop them.
The texts you can get.
Word for word. Only after you say yes on the call. Your management company's name and your building's address appear in them.
+1 833-579-7874
Your management office: how to stop the water. 1. Look under the sinks and behind the toilet for a small valve on the pipe. Turn the handle to the right (clockwise) until it stops. If it is a lever, turn it so it sits across the pipe. 2. If the water is coming from somewhere else, look for your unit's main valve, often in a closet or near the hot water tank or washer. 3. Keep away from water near outlets, panels or appliances. Do not touch anything electrical while standing in water. If anyone is hurt or in danger, call 9-1-1.
On a leak, if you asked for the shut-off steps.
+1 833-579-7874
Your management office. A plumber has confirmed and is coming to your building, your unit. They have your number and have been asked to call you when they are on the way. If water is still running and you can reach the shut off safely, please do. If anything changes, call back on the number you called.
Once a plumber or manager accepts the job.
Reply STOP to any text to stop them, or HELP for help. How texts work.
If it can wait until morning.
Noise and other problems that can wait are written down, read back to you, and sent to your management office. Nobody is woken up for it.
What the desk won't tell you.
- An arrival time.It tells you who has been rung and that a text follows when someone accepts. It does not guess when they will arrive.
- A cost, or who pays.Questions about money, insurance or responsibility are written down and passed to your management team.
- Made-up answers.When it does not know, it takes your details and tells you what happens next.
Your privacy.
No audio of your call is kept. The desk keeps a written record so your management team knows what happened, and a word-for-word transcript is kept for two years so any later question about the call can be answered.
More detail: privacy policy and how texts work.
Look for this in your lobby.
Buildings on rushproof put up a poster with the building's own emergency number, printed from the Switchboard. This is the wording on it. Save the number in your phone so you have it when you need it.
Your building
Emergency after hours?
Call this number
Your building's number
Save this number in your phone. The rushproof desk answers every call, 24 hours a day.
- Water coming in or a pipe leaking
- No heat when it's cold
- Power out in the hallways, lobby or parkade
- A main door or garage door that won't lock
The desk takes your unit and what's happening, then calls the right trade or your building manager while you're still on the phone. You get a text when someone takes the job.
Fire, smoke, the smell of gas, someone hurt or trapped in an elevator: call 9-1-1 first.
Your management company. Emergency line run by rushproof.
Not sure if your building uses rushproof?
Check the notices posted in your building, or ask your management company. If your building does not use rushproof, call your management company's own after-hours line.