When the historic city of Prague faced its worst flooding in 150 years, a Skipton firm was there to witness the devastation.

As water levels rose dangerously high and tens of thousands of people were evacuated from the Czech Republic city, disaster specialists ISS Ark & General, were called in to help save the day.

The firm was involved in helping the underground Metro system recover after the River Vltava, which cuts through the city, reached desperately high levels. Water seeped into the Metro, leaving 18 stations severely affected by the two million plus cubic metres of water.

The firm helped pump out the water and then helped other contractors with the task of cleaning up the tons of mud, debris and rubbish that had built up. ISS brought in hundreds of dehumidifiers and ventilators to cope with the task.

ISS Ark & General specialises in disasters, its staff travel the globe where ever disaster has struck and save the day - thus reducing the cost of insurance claims.

Whether the problem is flooding or fire, the superhero company swoops in and tries to put a halt to further damage taking place and salvage what it can.

From stripping down water-logged technical equipment to drying out masonry, to saving burnt or sodden office furniture or carpets, the firm does it all.

In just 16 short months the firm, which was established when Danish firm ISS Group acquired and merged two disaster recover companies - Hednesford-based Ark & General with Skipton-based Electromec, has expanded to five bases across the UK and Ireland.

The commercial disaster recovery company, which is based on Millennium Road, now has premises in East Kilbride, Dublin, Portsmouth and Hednesford in Staffordshire.

Since it was established in November 2001, the Skipton business, which employs 20 people at the Airedale Business Centre, has seen its turnover double each month and plans to increase this growth even further in 2003.

At the beginning of the year the firm purchased a super bus to use as a mobile HQ so it could travel to disasters in style and respond better to emergency situations.

The firm invested tens of thousands of pounds in the new hi-tech coach so it would have a mobile headquarters for its disaster site co-ordination. It features a purpose-built office and communications centre.

Steve Mitchell, the firm's national operations manager, said: "The vehicle is a tremendous boost to our ability to immediately respond to major disasters.

"The coach gives us a mobile base from which we can quickly and effectively deal with any situations which arise transporting the required number of staff to areas of crisis and to undertake restoration work.

"The office area delivers a distinct operational advantage over other disaster recovery firms and allows us to get the job done even more efficiently than before.''

And talking disasters, the firm has had to cope with a few.

Shaun Doherty, managing director of ISS Ark & General, added: "We've worked all over the country and even abroad, helping firms when they've been hit by problems like flooding and fire.

"One job for Safeway involved more than a hundred people trying to get three weeks work done in just seven days.

"A store in Clacton-on-Sea had been hit by fire and we had to go in a clean up the situation as the store needed to reopen as quickly as possible to ensure it was able to trade over its busiest period - Christmas.''

Another job ISS Ark & General was involved in happened after flooding hit E&R Polymers in Derbyshire.

The firm's site director, David Griffiths, explained: "When I saw the damage caused by the flooding I resigned myself to the fact that we would never produce at the plant again.''

Despite the pessimism E & R Polymers was back up and running again within four weeks.

ISS Ark & General not only got the firm back on its feet but also saved it around £800,000.

The severity of the flooding left extensive structural, mechanical and electrical damage, which meant ISS Ark & General had to step in and start the recovery process as soon as possible.

First it had to make sure the flooding problems would not be exasperated, then it had to recover affected machinery and electrical equipment.

During the project more than 20,000 gallons of contaminated water was removed from the site and disposed of safely.

ISS Ark & general project manager, Richard Done, said: "We managed to save a majority of the mechanical and electrical equipment and dealt effectively with the structural damage caused by the influx of water.

"The cost of establishing a new factory and buying in new equipment would have damaged the company.

"Add to that the chaos caused by business interruption and it really was a life-saving job for E&R Polymers and its employees.''

Mr Doherty added: "When a disaster happens we go in to salvage equipment and clean up the site. If computers have been reduced to molten lumps, or office furniture is cheap we don't bother with restoration, but we can salvage most items which means the insurance companies don't have to spend so much money on claims and the business can get up and running again quickly.''

To help its expansion plans the business has also introduced a sophisticated IT system which speeds up the claim process and helps counter the critical time period between the disaster and the claim being paid.

Mr Doherty explained: "Our project managers can get all the relevant information and images to the insurance company and the loss adjuster within hours of the disaster happening.

"It seems a basic concept but armed with laptops, mobiles and digicams the whole claims process can be addressed far more efficiently with our own software.

"It's all about reducing the time and subsequent cost to the insurance company.''

Last year the business signed a deal with Ecclesiastical Insurance to look after 15,000 churches and cathedrals in the event of fire, flooding or other disasters.

So far the firm has completed work on Coventry Cathedral and Shrewsbury Abbey.

Coventry Cathedral was recently restored after fire broke out in its basement, while Shrewsbury Abbey was cleaned up following flooding.

Josie Matthews, of ISS, explained: "The restoration of precious buildings represents a real test for the disaster recovery industry, however in recent years we have developed the technology and expertise which can significantly reduce damage.''

Mr Doherty added: "It's not just the insurance company who stand to benefit by this new approach. We are here to minimise the costs incurred from business interruption and get commercial organisations back on their feet as soon as possible.

"Disaster recovery is an area that requires specialised skills. The elements of trust, knowledge and reputation are of paramount importance in our field and any company that offers those three skills in abundance will be able to increase their market share.''

On the firm's future, he added: "We've got targets to achieve over the next five years which should see us treble in size.''