When a Baltimore apartment building burst into flames early one February morning, Dave Caplan helped 16 families to safety and minimized damage almost immediately, he said.
As a certified manager of community associations, he had a plan.
Certified managers help homeowner boards maintain communities? real estate value and are prepared to handle emergencies, according to Dawn Bauman, executive director of the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers. “They?re a guardian angel for the communities.”
Managers must take classes and pass an exam to become certified, then take classes every two years to remain certified.
The board certified Caplan in 1997, after nearly five years in the field. Since Hurricane Katrina, he has gotten a lot more calls.
Any type of emergency training for association managers would be beneficial, said Jeff Welsh, spokesman for Maryland Emergency Management Agency.
There are 160 certified managers in Maryland, Bauman said.
