Reid Shimabukuro says the closest federal fire station to the west side that’s manned 24-7 is the Pearl City station. He says that could become a major problem.
In the past week, we’ve seen several brushfires on the Leeward Coast.
The first big brushfire of the season started burning Monday afternoon.
"We were lucky that this fire started I think at 1 o’clock in the afternoon," said Shimabukuro, president of Federal Firefighters of Hawaii
The Federal Fire Department says Lualualei was fully manned and equipped when the brush fire was reported on June 4 and those firefighters were first to respond on scene.
Due to department of defense funding shortfalls, last July, the Lualualei fire station was changed from being manned 24-7 to only being manned from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Shimabukuro says the move could put the Leeward Coast at risk.
“There is no fire protection say after 4 o’clock in the afternoon," said Shimabukuro.
"The thing that’s important about Lualualei is that its sitting out there by itself," added Shimabukuro. "The nearest responding company that’s a federal asset is going to come out of the Pearl City area and that’s time and time is crucial."
Last month, the Honolulu Fire Department and the Federal Fire Department renewed an existing memorandum of understanding with the Navy over firefighting.
The agreement outlines responsibilities when both HFD and the Federal Fire Department respond to a situation.
HFD says they have 9 stations that serve the leeward coast.
“I don’t think that we can solely depend on the City and County of Honolulu Fire Department to take care of fires that are happening on our own installation,”
In a statement the Federal Fire Department says:
"Through our mutual aid agreement, both Honolulu Fire Dept. and Federal Fire Dept would respond to an emergency outside our normal working hours, however HFD would likely arrive first since their station is closest to the scene."
"The summer season is long,” said Shimabukuro. “And unless we get rain we’re still going to encounter brushfires and we need fire station to be fully operational with the appropriate apparatuses out there.”
Shimabukuro says starting tomorrow, federal fire crews will rotate 24 hours for the next two weeks at Lualualei station.
He says it’s a step in the right direction but it’s not a solution.
The union has filed an unfair labor practice that’s under investigation.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
