Officals Delay Lending FEMA Trailers To Displaced Miami Residents

Sunday, July 22nd 2007, 7:39 pm

By: News On 6

MIAMI, Okla. (AP) -- Miami residents displaced from their homes by recent flooding will have to wait to use temporary trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. State and federal officials first want the 40 trailers taken to the Ottawa County town to be tested by the Centers for Disease Control for possible elevated levels of formaldehyde, which can cause respiratory problems.

The delay comes after reports of health issues that some have attributed to living in the trailers.

Miami Mayor Tim Brassfield says the delay is, quote, "about the last thing we want to hear."

Brassfield says he emphasized the urgency of the matter to Fred Liebee, the deputy director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management department.

Brassfield says it is vital that the trailers be deemed safe before they are loaned to displaced residents. He also has begun looking for alternative sources of temporary housing.

Related stories:

7/18/2007 FEMA Trailers Arrive In Flood Ravaged Miami

7/20/2007 On Heels Of Formaldehyde Complaints, FEMA Announces Plans To Test Trailer Air Quality