New Orleans-area employers use free trailers supplied by FEMA to

Issac White knows what it means to take his work home with him. These days, his work and his home are the same place.

Since Hurricane Katrina destroyed his house in eastern New Orleans, White has been living in a narrow, two-bedroom trailer parked on the site of his employer of 16 years, Cytec Industries Inc. of Waggaman. At 6-feet-4-inches tall, he's careful not to bump his head on the trailer's ceiling. This has been a humbling experience, White said.

He's not alone.

Employers across the metropolitan New Orleans area are using free trailers supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house employees who lost their homes to Katrina.

Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission officials say the trailers are playing a major role in putting parish employers back in business. Thanks to the trailers, companies can provide temporary housing for homeless employees, JEDCO officials said.

Many of our manufacturers and warehouses and distributors have employees that have been displaced. Their houses have been destroyed. Their employees want to get back to work and the employers need to continue production for their livelihoods, as well. This is satisfying everybody's needs, said Jeff Bologna, economic development specialist for JEDCO. Cytec, a chemical manufacturer headquartered in West Paterson, N.J., employs 430 people and is one of the top 20 employers in Jefferson Parish, said Dennis Nuss, public affairs coordinator for Cytec. The company has approximately 35 employees who need housing, Nuss said.

The FEMA trailers have allowed us to get back up and running fairly quickly, Nuss said.

Bologna said companies along the Harvey Canal have asked for trailers and so has Magic Seasonings Blends in Harahan.

PepsiAmericas Inc., a Harahan beverage-distribution facility that employs 160 people, received 36 trailers from FEMA for 50 homeless employees, said Mary Viola, PepsiAmericas communications director.

We thought that the best way to kind of find a solution for what is an agonizing problem would be to set up a minitown on our premises so workers can start to get back to some level of normalcy, she said.

FEMA supplies the trailers but employers must figure out where to put them, Bologna said. Lack of trailer space has been a problem for small businesses such as retailers.

Companies are also responsible for providing the trailers with services such as water, electricity and sewerage. Smaller employers seem to have trouble providing the services, Bologna said.

The 8-foot-by-32-foot trailers have two beds and are furnished with microwaves, refrigerators and even DVD players but no televisions or kitchen utensils. FEMA has approximately 200,000 trailers available for the areas affected by Katrina, Bologna said.

JEDCO has handled the requests for up to 600 trailers for Jefferson Parish businesses, he said, through a very expedited process.

Requests are made through JEDCO, he said. Each employee who will live in the trailers must have applied for FEMA assistance. After the trailers are delivered, employers have 72 hours to fill out a form with the registration number for each trailer and which employees are living in the trailers. The form goes to the state, which is administering the program. But it's not a glitch-free program, officials said. For example, Cytec doesn't know who is responsible for fixing broken window blinds, hard-to-open doors or other problems with the trailers, said Mike Roy, project manager for Cytec. Family members cannot live in the trailers, according to FEMA rules, Nuss said.

White said his wife is living with his daughter in Houston.

Cytec requested 20 FEMA trailers through the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, Nuss said. As of Sept. 27, Cytec had received 15 trailers and was waiting on the final five to be delivered. Hurricane Rita, which hit Louisiana Sept. 23, stalled trailer deliveries, Bologna said.

Nuss said Cytec bought five trailers from General Electric Co. immediately after Katrina in order to provide employee housing quickly. The GE trailers cost $3,500 each to install and another $3,500 each to disassemble, and $395 each in monthly rent, Nuss said. Employers can use the FEMA trailers for as long as they need, Bologna said.

Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.