I-Team: Mobile home slows rebuilding

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Hundreds of  Western Mass. residents are scrambling to get their tornado damaged homes repaired before winter, but rebuilding comes with its hurdles. In one case, it was a roadblock in the form on a mobile home.

Armando Feliciano helps his neighbors for a living, as a member of Rebuild Springfield and Springfield Redevelopment, but when it came to repairing his own home after the June first tornado, he found himself with his hands tied.

Look around Springfield and you'll see temporary living trailors in most tornado ravaged communities.

Feliciano didn't think twice about getting one for him and his family while his home was being rebuilt. He never anticipated the trailor would bring the project to a screeching halt.

The 70-foot trailor delivered was twice the length of his house and too big for his property.

It literally stood in the way of his contractors who could no longer haul equipment in or out.
Feliciano asked "Able Housing," the company based in Georgia who delivered the trailor, to take it back, but it wasn't that easy.

"We've pleaded with them, we've sent e-mails to them and they're not doing anything," Feliciano said.

Feliciano called the 22News I-Team for help and we quickly discovered we were dealing with more than just an oversized problem.

The trailor was also unlivable with mold growing in the freezer, there were bugs everywhere and no heat.
We snapped pictures and e-mailed them to the CEO of Able Housing.

While we waited for response, we then tracked down the person who measured Feliciano's property for the trailor company.

That person was Buddy Roy, from Roy's Towing.

We showed him pictures of the massive trailor.

"I measured the property, but it was up to the company what size trailor they wanted to bring in," Roy said.

Roy didn't take any responsibility for the size of the trailor but agreed to visit the property again, with us this time, to see if he could help.

"Problem is, it's just too big of a trailor for the property," Roy said.

Roy could see his neighbor needed help and he agreed to help remove it.  "I'd do it as a curtousy for him."

Luckily, it didn't come to that.

The CEO of Able Housing, who never personally responded to our e-mails and phone calls, soon after, took action on the pictures we sent.

We got the good news workers showed up unannounced and took the trailor away.

We were there when Feliciano saw his property for the first time, trailor free.

"I looked so forward to this moment.  I'm missing my house, I want to hurry up and get back to it and thanks to the I-team and 22News, I'm going to do it it's going to happen and I'm excited," Feliciano said.

Feliciano's contractors are now back to work and are working hard to get it done by Christmas.

Able Housing refused to comment on this story.