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Outline of Need
Norma Eddy had a
serious electrical problem throughout
her old Thurston County home. She and her family have lived in the rural
countryside outside the Washington State capital of Olympia for nearly
50 years. Norma, a Native American of the Snoqualmie Tribe, is not sure
exactly how old her house is. “It was old when we bought the house,” she
said. In fact, Norma says the brick from her fireplace was said to have
been made from the clay in her backyard.
The electrical
system consisted of old knob and tube wiring, s the most widely used
type of wiring in frame buildings up until the late 1920s. While not
inherently dangerous, knob and tube wiring is old and its insulation may
no longer be intact. To turn on a light, Norma would have to reach up
and pull a cord coming from the fixture.
The insulation on
Norma’s wiring was cracked and frayed and even bare in some places. She
risked a fire every time she turned on a light. In fact, home electrical
problems account for 67,800 fires, 485 deaths, and $868 million in
property losses according to the United States Fire Administration
Office of Fire Management Programs, with home electrical wiring causes
twice as many fires as electrical appliances.
How Rural Development Helped
Norma had to do
something quick but she didn’t know where to turn. She called a long
list of people, keeping detailed notes from every call. “I kept getting
referred to one organization after another,” she said in frustration. “I
needed help quick and I was getting nowhere.”
Finally, after
about two months of calling and endless referrals, Norma stumbled on
USDA Rural Development by accident. “I finally found someone who could
help me,” she said. Norma learned about and applied for a 504 loan/grant
combination for $12,500. She qualified for the 504 Grant lifetime
maximum of $7,500 to repair her electrical system and a 504 loan for
$5,000 to repair and replace a dangerously dilapidated deck that had
been built by her husband many years earlier.
The Results
With the money in
hand, Norma hired Huttman Electric Inc. based out of Olympia, to replace
her electrical system. According to Owner Werner Huttman, Norma’s wiring
was the worst he had seen in the 22 years his company has been in
business. “It’s a miracle her house didn’t burn down,” he said. Huttman
had a team of four electricians working over five days to remove the old
wiring and replace it with new wiring, a modern junction box, switches,
and plug receptacles. “Mrs. Eddy was so grateful that she wrote us a
nice letter to thank us, which was very nice,” he recalled.
“I am real happy,”
she said. “I don’t have to worry about those old exposed wires catching
my house on fire and I can now I can turn on my lights just like
everyone else."
To learn more about this and other
USDA Rural Development Housing programs, click here for the Rural Development
Area Office closest to you.
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