Thread: Down South for FEMA

Hi fellow inspectors,
I'm usually monitoring and responding from my home base in SoCal but for the last 5 days, I've been in Texas and Louisiana waiting to get dispatched by PaRR & FEMA. Currently in Bossier City, spinning in circles. Any of you all live in this area? Would love to hook up and have a beer or whatever. Got lots of free time on my hands right now. Could get the call to move south at any time though.
Dana

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Do they pay you to sit around and wait??

Good luck with you trip.

Yep, $400/day for the first 5 days of each deployment. Got three days for
sitting in Dallas and 2 days so far for being here in Bossier City.
May be moving out of here soon since all the shelters are closed up here.
Then the clock starts again for the first 5 days at the new place if we don't get sent out.
Dana

Originally Posted by Erby Crofutt

Do they pay you to sit around and wait??

Good luck with you trip.

Dana,
No offense, but not real fond of Parr or FEMA down here. After hurricane Katrina hundreds of local inspectors were turned down by PARR. Inspectors had no work for months and had to find other work while out of state inspectors invaded the south. Baton Rouge has been hit hard but you don't hear about it anymore on the national news. Less than 50% of the power has been restored as of today.

Originally Posted by James Bohac

Dana,
No offense, but not real fond of Parr or FEMA down here. After hurricane Katrina hundreds of local inspectors were turned down by PARR. Inspectors had no work for months and had to find other work while out of state inspectors invaded the south. Baton Rouge has been hit hard but you don't hear about it anymore on the national news. Less than 50% of the power has been restored as of today.

It is a fairly well known fact that none of the FEMA contractors use local inspectors. They don't want folks inspecting in areas that they might tend to have a relationship with just to keep the inspections fair and balanced. This is the reason that go out of the impacted area for inspectors.

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

It is a fairly well known fact that none of the FEMA contractors use local inspectors. They don't want folks inspecting in areas that they might tend to have a relationship with just to keep the inspections fair and balanced. This is the reason that go out of the impacted area for inspectors.

You are correct Scott. I did not get called for the fires in Cali when I live right there.
There are lots of checks and rechecks of the of the inspections we do to make sure
everything is as correct as possible.
This is not easy work. There is a lot of down time, then a mad scramble to get into an area and find lodging and or a vehicle, download the inspections from FEMA, set appointments, try to actually find someone to talk to and then finally do the actual inspection if you can even get to the structure.
We have people living 4 to a room or sleeping in their cars and trucks because there are no rooms available. You are "out of pocket" for two weeks before you get paid. This ain't a gravey trqain an you may be living rough for a while. BUT, you can make some killer money if you can make it go right. As much as a grand a day. That can make all the crap you go through worth it.
We'll see how this one goes. I'm blogging this whole thing at Thoughts from a Boomer if anyone is interested.
Anyone got a place to stay in the New Orleans area? Please! LOLOL This $100+ per night is killing me.
Dana

James, did you consider signing up with them for disasters "outside" your area so you have work while waiting for your area to get back to normal.

May have to travel aways but at least you're working!

Power restored, Inspection beginning to come in, College football this weekend. life is good!

Originally Posted by James Bohac

Power restored, Inspection beginning to come in, College football this weekend. life is good!

One needs to keep an eye on the priorities. LOL

I'm here in downtown New Orleans and working mostly in the Harvey area, doing inspections for FEMA. Look like the lodging issue has been handled for now. Finally found a reasonably priced hotel on Canal St. and am sharing it with a Real Estate agent from South Carolina who is also an inspector. Working out well so far.
These "hurricane bands" coming through are intense. I was in a Win Dixie getting a few things and all of a sudden, it started dumping like crazy. I could hardly see my car parked in the first row nearest the store. Didn't last long and I only got a bit wet getting back to the car. So far, not raining during my inspections.
Dana

From Parr web site:

Inspectors are paid every week on a per inspection basis. The current rate is $49.40 per inspection. Based on the type of disaster and its geographical makeup (rural/urban), most inspectors average 10-16 completed inspections per day. Inspectors are paid by check or by direct deposit if requested