Facing the cold without a furnace

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Some families in Kalamazoo are struggling to stay warm.

That's because the flooding in September destroyed their furnaces and water heaters, and many of those families are still in the cold.

There was hope that FEMA would help, but Monday it was discovered that there was no help coming.

Local charitable organizations and the City of Kalamazoo are still trying to help those families, but with no aid coming from FEMA, it's not an easy task.

John Kessler had water up to the second step in his basement, and he was hoping that he would get some help with all the damage his home suffered during the flood.

Asked for an estimate of the damage done, Kessler said "I'm going to ballpark it somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000."

And after months of waiting, Kalamazoo County Emergency Management confirmed on Monday that FEMA would not be helping local flood victims.

Lt. Paul Baker of Kalamazoo County Emergency Management said that "it's very disappointing that our community has taken such a hit from these severe rains and flooding, that we would up not getting any type of federal aid at this time."

After weeks of surveying the damage, crews handed in more than $11 million in claims for FEMA to approve, but when FEMA came to inspect, they didn't agree that what they say was a disaster area.

"We had a great amount of minor or widespread damage," Lt. Baker said, "it just wasn't at an intensity level that fit their criteria."

Once the final word came from FEMA on Monday, the Kalamazoo City Council responded quickly, voting to offer up to $100,000 to help flood victims who are being forced to brave the cold without so much as a working furnace."

"This is culled from other programs that we had already earmarked," said Kalamazoo City Commissioner Sean McCain, "blight abatement is one example of a program where we're going to move these funds out of."

There are very strict financial guidelines for who will qualify for the money. So between those who have the money to help themselves, and those who qualify for aid, there are many who may be left in the cold.

Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services is handling the $100,000 to help with furnaces and the Small Business Administration is offering low interest loans of up to $200,000 per person at 2.8 percent to help flood victims fix their homes.