On Thursday 20 May the fire brigade were called out at 1am to Royal Jersey’s site in Dagenham following a reported fire.

The fire raged through the night and CCTV footage later showed that a cage of clean folded linen ignited on the loading bay shortly after 10pm.

As soon as managing director at Royal Jersey, James Lincoln, arrived onsite it was quite apparent that there was little left of the building or the stock inside. He called his team to a meeting immediately to kick their disaster recovery plan into action and ensure that their customers – predominantly five-star luxury hotels across London – suffered no impact to their service. The robustness of their disaster plan was evident when Lincoln posted on his LinkedIn page within 24 hours that ‘I can confirm we are now operating back to normal levels of service!’

The outcome and speed to service recovery could have been far more devastating for both Royal Jersey and their customer base, but their ability to switch quickly into disaster recovery mode only highlights the importance of planning for such unexpected events. Their disaster recovery plan included relocating all work to their back up options, rescheduling staff working patterns and getting all their vehicles out to deliver and take soiled items to the new laundry processing locations. The entire management team also relocated to the new back-up laundry and worked until 1am to ensure the day’s work was completed and customer deliveries went ahead as planned.

Lincoln said: “The most disappointing part of it all, and the only part that didn’t go to plan, was when a march in central London on the Sunday delayed us getting to the Dorchester on time having worked day and night and putting in 18 hour shifts to get everything back on track!

“We are proud of how quickly we reinstated service. They say the harder the climb the better the view, and I and Royal Jersey am about to rise like a phoenix!” On his LinkedIn page the day after the fire, Lincoln said: “We successfully bounced back from a bomb hitting our previous factory and we will bounce back from this in record time stronger than ever!

“A huge thank you to everyone who reached out to me and my team yesterday to offer support and help where needed!”

Over a month since a fire devastated Royal Jersey’s laundry in Dagenham. The team continue to work day and night to keep things on track and work with the insurance company to start the rebuilding process