FEMA to Use Trailers After Tornadoes

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

FEMA to Use Trailers After Tornadoes

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press Writer

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Some of the thousands of trailers sitting unused since they were purchased by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 2005 for Gulf Coast hurricane victims may finally be put to use - to help victims of last week's tornadoes, officials said Tuesday.

Some members of Congress have accused FEMA of playing down the danger of possible formaldehyde contamination in the trailers - more than 6,300 of them stored at the Hope airport - but an agency spokesman said Tuesday that the trailers are safe.

The decision to use some of the trailers for Arkansas and Tennessee twister victims comes after requests by state officials and members of Arkansas' congressional delegation, who have criticized the trailers in the past as a sign of federal ineptitude after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

David Maxwell, head of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, said his office told FEMA immediately after the tornadoes that the victims would need some of the trailers.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TORNADOES_FEMA_TRAILERS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

[karlrschneider]

1. The formaldehyde can easily be removed from them by simply airing them out

for a couple weeks. EVERY manufactured home, trailer, travel trailer, boat, etc. etc. has formaldehyde in the wood products, it will go away if they would just open up the damn windows for a while.
:eyes:

[thunder rising]

2. Are they actually going to deliver the ones that have been stagnating all these years?

[pitohui]

6. older ones are safer than brand new ones in regards to formaldehyde

i realize that you just can't make some people happy but the trailers were there to help out a number of people i know and living in a trailer with electric and water is a lot more practical for most people than living in a tent, keeping in mind that this is not a camping trip but a situation people have to live in for several months (sometimes years) until their homes are restored

one quibble i have is if someone has never lived in a trailer before, yes, give them basic information and keep them informed, as karl says, when new, you need to air them out -- some people clearly didn't know this and pretty much locked themselves in an air conditioned trailer without proper ventilation -- throw the windows open when you first get those things!

you can get "sick building syndrome" working in a new skyscraper just as well as in a new trailer, people these days aren't always well educated as to the value of good ventilation, new carpets and wood paneling and so forth does outgoes some formadehyde and trailers do need to be aired out, this isn't some evil magic worked by FEMA

[Ian David]

7. Why don't they air-out the pieces for 2 weeks before they assemble them? n/t

[pitohui]

10. because the outgassing is from the carpets and paneling EOM

,

[Ian David]

11. That can't be aired-out? n/t

[pitohui]

14. sure they can be aired out but use your noodle

i don't know about you but just in case there was a huge disaster and the manufacturers were maybe in a hurry i would still air out my trailer, i would not just cross my fingers and trust that somebody else did it for me out of sight when i couldn't see them

when i had new carpet installed, yes, because it was in my house, and i was staying in another part of if, the contractor placed the loosely rolled carpet in the empty room, we opened the windows and got the fans blowing, and then waited a few days before installation, but would he have taken the time if i was in another state or would he have hurried up and just finished the job?

i worked on a magazine story on formadehyde outgassing in trailers in the 1980s so it isn't a new problem nor is it a problem invented by FEMA, it's a problem of most people apparently don't have these environmental sensitivities so that home builders, contractors, and manufacturers could care less about the health of those of us who do, it's up to us to be aware and protect ourselves

[uppityperson]

3. Oh fuck FEMA. eom

[Imalittleteapot]

4. If an agency spokesman says the trailers are safe

then surely they are not. I'd rather live in a tent than breathe toxic fumes.

[tnlefty]

5. "If an agency spokesman says...kinda like when the GYN says 'this

won't hurt at all' - time to run like hell!!

[Ian David]

8. FEMA issued a directive forbidding their employees from setting foot inside the trailers...

because they are so toxic.

I SUPPOSE the evacuees could camp outside their trailers in a tent for 2 weeks while they air-out?

[pitohui]

13. yeah well there's always people who want everyone left homeless on the street

the best answer is to use good ventilation and throw open the windows and air the place out for a few days, just as you would if you had bought the trailer yourself instead of receiving it after a disaster

it is not possible, the people in this country are not rich enough, for everyone to be able to instantly afford to buy an entire new house to replace one destroyed in a natural disaster, to help people back on their feet, sometimes the trailers need to be given

yelling at FEMA for providing the trailers is just playing into the hands of the "small gov't" fuckwits who don't care if victims are homeless forever and want to train us to do without any assistance after disaster forever

stop playing the GOP game of gov't assistance is always bad, evil, and designed to kill, and that people are better off bootstrapping it, these people were hit by a tornado, for god's sake, they are not "welfare queens," at the end of the day all this fuss is designed to take away a small help to people in times of crisis

[Ian David]

17. Uhm.... no. Government is only bad when Republicans do it. n/t

[The Croquist]

20. I'll take my chances in a trailer

Why don't we inform the people of the risks and let them decide. We've got 45 million people in this country who smoke tobacco. They've decided that it's worth the risk to get a buzz. If they think it's dangerous they can have my tent. It's cold out there.

[knitter4democracy]

9. Don't they know that trailers attract tornadoes?

I thought that was common knowledge. :shrug: Put those people in trailers, and you're just begging for another storm.

[fed-up]

12. is FEMA implying that all Katrina victims have adequate housing??? nt

[pitohui]

15. katrina victims have made alternative arrangements by now, over 2 years later

a big issue is getting the trailers removed, i know a couple of people who STILL have not been able to get FEMA to come by and remove the now unneeded trailers

sure they were great to have at the time but one doesn't want to look at them forever, would be nice to have the yard back!

in some parishes any remaining trailers are now going to be ticketed and removed as nuisances

not everyone has rebuilt their home but, realistically, after all this time, if they haven't, it's because they are living somewhere else

[loser_user]

16. Trailers are tornado magnets

Do they want more? :D

[JanusAscending]

18. That's total BULLSHIT !!

Nothing new for FEMA. It's to be expected now, and until we get into the White House. I hope they air that out REAL good, after shrub leaves!!

[LeftyMom]

19. Do they have a backup plan if more storms roll through?

They don't call those things tornado bait for nothing.