KOAM TV 7 Joplin and PittsburgFEMA mobile home residents worried about safety following meth lab bust

A methamphetamine lab is found at the Hope Haven FEMA mobile home site off Highway 171.
Four Joplin residents are arrested, but neighbors say they are concerned for their safety.

Like thousands of other displaced Joplin residents, Jason Calvin is getting used to his new neighborhood at the FEMA mobile home park near the airport.  But not only does he have new neighbors, he has new worries.

"It's really sad because we are all out here to get our lives back together, to relax and just heal, to move on," Calvin says.

But a drug bust two streets away from Calvin's have him on edge.  Police arrested four people accused of running a meth lab inside the mobile home.

"We've kind of agreed to keep an eye on each others places during the day when we are here and there, and we have each others cell phone numbers to call when we need to, so a lot of us have made that bond," Calvin says.

Although the Joplin Police Department says the number of methamphetamine cases have not increased, the concern for the residents living in the FEMA modular units have.

"One could just ignite the other, and just ignite the other, it could wipe out the park in no time flat," Calvin says.

He says he wishes there were more police patrolling the streets.

"Any time you're dealing with meth labs it's always a concern for safety no matter if you're living in an area like the mobile housing units or if you're living in an apartment complex or even in a neighborhood, you know we want to make sure people are safe," says Lt. Darren Gallup of the Joplin Police Department.

"We are going to be out here for an indefinite amount of time so we might as well make the best of it and I just wish someone would step up and make sure something happens so we can just get out here, relax, and do our part to move on," Calvin says.

Police urge residents if you have an emergency to call 911 and if you have any tips on meth laps feel free to call dispatch.