2023-04-27 Fire Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes April 27, 2023 Page 5 ➢ Ocean Safety: Planning for the Junior Lifeguard Program, it's meeting with great success and will be in June. ➢ Rescue: Rescue Boat 2 is back in service. Repairs are delayed again for Rescue Boat 7 due to part backorder. Chair Kosaki stated he knows his administration wasn't the one who took away the Special Operations Battalion Chief, but it was and now the burden is put on the AC of operations to manage that. There were some concerns that were brought up about basic things such as ordering equipment and necessary material in a timely manner for hazmat. There was one situation where they were out of chlorine calibration gas, so the chlorine meters weren't calibrated for three months before it was operable again. This brings up red flags, not only for the department but for the public, it's a safety concern. He asked if there is a line budget specifically for hazmat because that is a big portion. LEPC assists with purchasing equipment but day-to- day things such as sensors and calibration gas are very expensive and need to be purchased in a timely manner. Deputy Chief Moller explained it falls under the OCE for support services, but he doesn't see a direct correlation to hazardous materials and he'll bring this up with the chief when he gets back. Chair Kosaki stated in the Chief's Report, it says Rescue Boat 7 repairs were delayed again due to parts backorder, but in the minutes, it says Rescue Boat 7 repairs are scheduled for April loth, but considering the state of the boats, they were thinking of just replacing the boats. He suggests they make this a priority because it's an important piece of equipment. Chief Moller stated he agrees and explained they're currently working on a Port Security Grant. Additionally, Sayre Foundation took information on trying to get them a boat because they have a donor that's looking at getting one. Also, through the normal process, they're trying to get funding to acquire a new boat. They're also looking at the ability to fix the boat locally. Chief Moller stated in regards to the Special OPS BC, he agrees that's a job in itself. At the previous meeting, Chief Todd mentioned they're potentially looking at an Air OPS BC. He explained that may be a full Special OPS BC. Chair Kosaki asked if they were aware that the State turned off the water at Hapuna Beach, there was no potable water. He went swimming the other day and there were no showers or drinking water. Chief Moller stated he was not aware of this and will look into it. Chair Kosaki stated he was aware the plan is to promote WSO 5 to be equivalent to a BC. He thinks it's important that you have a chief officer directly involved with them because there are a lot of investigations. When he oversaw Ocean Safety, they took up 50% of his time doing investigations. He heard the captains are doing it now and they have no experience or training. It's a concern because it puts the captain at risk for liability and the department if they don't do the investigations properly and go