FEMA is busy painting stove knobs red [View All]

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FEMA_RED_KNOBS?SITE=FLTAL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Trying to prevent deadly explosions, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent contractors to more than 100,000 government-issue trailers on the Gulf Coast to paint stove knobs a distinctive red.

FEMA spokesman Aaron Walker said the change will help trailer residents tell the difference between the knobs that control the igniters and those that operate the burners on propane stoves.

Walker said four gas- or stove-related fires in FEMA trailers have been reported in Louisiana, including one in April that killed a man in Slidell. He said FEMA has had no reports of gas or stove fires in Mississippi.Walker said workers in Mississippi have painted the knobs on about 85 percent of the 30,000 to 40,000 trailers there. In Louisiana, around 20 percent of the knobs in 70,000 trailers have been painted red.

The task is time-consuming because trailer occupants must be home for the work to be done, Walker said.

He had no estimate on how much it will cost FEMA.

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