FEMA Offers NYC Residents Up To $1600 for HEPA Air Purifiers and Air Conditioner Replacement

FEMA / Fatwallet.com ^ | June 21, 2002

[Timesink]

FEMA Individual & Family Grant Program for Air Purifiers and Filters, HEPA Vacuums, Air Conditioner Repair / Replacement

Release Date: June 21, 2002

For Complete Coverage of the World Trade Center Attack

Administered by the New York State Emergency Management Office (SEMO), the Individual & Family Grant Program (IFGP) is in place to help individuals or families meet disaster-related needs and expenses that are not covered by insurance or other assistance programs. Under this program, New Yorkers may be eligible to receive assistance for home repairs, replacement of personal property and reimbursement for vacuum cleaners with HEPA* filters, air filters or purifiers, and air conditioner repair or replacement.

* High Efficiency Particulate Air filtration system

How do you apply for this equipment?

1. An applicant must first register with FEMA by calling 1-800-462-9029 to concerns about air quality and the need for eligible items listed. Individuals living in the five counties of New York City (New York, Bronx, Kings, Queens and Richmond) are eligible. Residents living outside of New York City may apply and will be considered on an individual, case-by-case basis.
   
   • Applicants who have already applied for other FEMA assistance programs should call IFGP directly at 1-866-346-0348 to apply for air purifiers, HEPA vacuums and/or air conditioner repair/replacement.
     
     
   • If applicant has already purchased equipment prior to registration, any reimbursement for these purchases will be determined by IFGP on a case-by-case basis.
   
   
2. FEMA will automatically forward the application to New York State's Individual & Family Grant Program. A New York State IFGP representative will acknowledge the applicant's interest for eligible items by mailing a request to the applicant for further information.
   
   
3. Upon receipt of the letter from IFGP, the applicant will be provided with purchasing guidelines for eligible items, such as sending original receipts to IFGP for reimbursement. Approval from IFGP must precede purchasing of eligible items.
   
   • Applicants demonstrating an extreme hardship and/or the inability to initially pay for the eligible items with their own funds may request consideration for advance payment by calling the IFGP Helpline at 1-866-346-0348.
   
   
4. Eligible items for reimbursement under the IFG program include:
   
   • air purifiers
   • air filters
   • vacuum cleaner with HEPA filter
   • air conditioner repair**
   • air conditioner replacement**

   Reimbursement for the purchase of multiple units, based on the presence of respiratory illnesses in the household, will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

   ** If an air conditioner owned prior to September 11 was damaged by dust or debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center, including heavy dust infiltration, applicant may be eligible for assistance from IFGP in the form of repair or replacement of the unit. However, such assistance may require an IFGP authorized inspection of the air conditioner prior to repair or replacement. This determination will be made by IFGP on a case-by-case basis.
   

5. Once the application has been received, any questions concerning the IFG program should be directed to the IFGP Helpline at 1-866-346-0348.

FEMA Recommends Caution to the Public When Purchasing Air Purifiers and HEPA Vacuums

New Yorkers should be aware that flyers and websites seen throughout the metropolitan area in recent months claim that residents can receive "free" air purifiers and HEPA filter-equipped vacuums from FEMA and IFGP. Some of these flyers and websites promote a special, non-FEMA number to call. These flyers and websites are really for the benefit of promoters who have no connection with FEMA or IFGP.

While assistance in purchasing air-purifiers and HEPA vacuums is available to qualified individuals through IFGP, this help is offered only through registration with FEMA by calling 1-800-462-9029. FEMA and IFGP officials urge caution in responding to flyers and websites selling equipment.

Last Updated: Friday, 28-Jun-2002 15:51:37 EDT

[Timesink]

I discovered this via a thread on the deal-tracking site Fatwallet.com. Here's the original post from there:

Register with FEMA
1-800-621-3362
Monday - Friday 9AM to 5PM

Guidelines:

1.) All New Yorkers (all five boroughs) are eligible to register since NYC has been classified as a Federal Disaster Area. You must have experienced bad air quality due to the World Trade Center collapse.

2.) This is a standard registration procedure. The FEMA representatives take emergency calls nationwide and may not be familiar with all the details of the reimbursement program. You should tell the FEMA representative that you are registering for the air purifier reimbursement program. The interview will then take about ten minutes. You will be given a FEMA registration number at the conclusion of the call.

3.) You are then eligible for the following:

HEPA Air purifiers up to $500
Replacement HEPA filters up to $300
A HEPA Vacuum up to $300
Air Conditioner replacement or cleaning up to $500

4.) In 5-7 days you will receive the following forms in the mail:

1.) Individual & Family Grant Program (IFG) cover letter.
2.) FEMA FORM 90-69B
3.) FEMA FORM 90-69D

These forms must be mailed back with your receipts in order to process your refund.

5.) You must purchase these products in advance and then mail in the receipts along with the above forms for a full refund.

You will receive a check from the New York State Individual and Family Grant program (IFG) for up to $1600. The average refund time is approximately three to five weeks.

You should read the Fatwallet thread; it's very interesting psychologically and politically. Almost all the posters are almost Freeperesque in their instant hatred of this program, except for the New Yorkers who say the rest of them seem to have already forgotten about 9/11.

In any case, if you live in NYC, perhaps this information will be useful to you.

[TheBattman]

I am curios as to the authority or real reasoning behind this. I am just concerned that the WTC attack will turn into the bottomless pit to throw money into.

I guess as long as there are "victims" there will be truckloads of cash dumped into this.... Unfortunately there are a lot of people who will take advantage of every government program ever established.

Every time there is a disaster of any sort - tornado, flooding, hurricane, etc. People flock to the free money, both real victims and those who already had a problem that was in serious need to be fixed and the disaster provided a free/cheap route.....

[Timesink]

evening bump