2020-10-14 Fire Commission Regular Minutes

Home

Hawai'i Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes October 14, 2020 Page 3 big part of the partnership with the Covid-19 mitigation efforts led by Deputy Chief Perreira. Retired Deputy Chief Lance Uchida is also engaged with SalesForce and providing the testing that's going on across the island. The SalesForce Corporation gave a significant donation to the county. ✓ USFA FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant for Covid-19: They were awarded $380,000 for Covid-19 PPE and disinfecting equipment. They were later notified that they could apply again for FEMA funding, and so will be applying for high capacity extractors which are washing machines that wash contaminants out of their fire gear. Human Resources Division: They are going through internal recruitment for fire equipment operator and open -competitive recruitment for an account clerk. Employee Development and Training has started, but class size is very limited. The firefighter recruitment closed on September. They generally receive about 150-300 applicants that qualify after the initial recruitment. After the written and agility tests, they usually have a good applicant pool. Emergency Operations Division ✓ AC 1: AC Darwin Okinaka completed the final inspections for Engine 7, Kailua- Kona and Engine 17, Laupahoehoe. They were moved from Pennsylvania to Oregon for testing and then will be sent to San Diego for shipping to Hawai'i. They are expected to arrive in Hilo the week of the October 28tH ✓ Battalion 1, East Hawai'i, they had a prison riot and fire on Waianuenue Avenue. The suppression system held the fire in check until they were able extinguish it. They were able to get the prisoners sequestered safely and identified prisoners and corrections officers who needed medical treatment which was mostly minor. They had a sad situation at Sand Hill in Puna where two brothers riding dirt bikes went over the hill. The older brother passed away before their arrival. The younger brother had to be airlifted out by medical transport. A brush fire in Ka'alu'alu in Ka'u covered approximately 3,500 acres where 39 career and volunteers firefighters fought the fire. They saved two outbuildings of ranch equipment and storage and freed a paddock of cattle and horses from the fast moving fire. The area also has a large number of historic archaeological sites. ✓ Battalion 2, West Hawaii, had a UTV rollover with two 8 -year old males who had to be transported to the hospital via helicopter. The helicopter is also under EMS review for budget cuts. They did a multiple agency search for two divers reportedly missing. They were found at a gas station. They were glad for that, but they needed to be educated to let people know when they leave the area so people don't think they are missing.