2015-03-18 Fire Commission Regular Minutes

Home

Hawaii County Fire Commission Minutes of March 18, 2015 Page 3 ✓ West Hawaii: Two children perished in a fire and two people were doused with gasoline. Ka`imi has been very busy with these and brush fires. The Hawaii Wildlife Organization worked with communities to clear brush and create preventative fire breaks. ✓ East Hawaii: A lot of brush fires were caused by the lava flow. Right now there are no surface breakouts, but they continue to be diligent as things could change. They created the foundation for a Type 3 All Hazmat Incident Management Team. ➢ Special Operations ✓ Hazmat: Personnel assisted the Combat Support Team (CST) with drills on Maui. A full scale exercise is scheduled for July. ✓ Rescue: Monthly off-duty rescue training continues to upkeep skill levels. ✓ Ocean Safety: Replacement of the Carlsmith lifeguard tower will be completed in March. Big swells caused significant damage to the Hapuna beach area, and they almost lost the tower. They are planning for the July 30-31 Drowning Prevention Ocean Safety Conference. This will run in conjunction with the State Junior Lifeguard Championships on August 1 at the Hapuna Prince Resort. SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION ➢ Training Bureau: The 43rd Fire Fighter Recruit class will graduate on May 9. A new training documentation form has been implemented. The driving stimulators were approved and request for bids was posted. Personnel received training for injected fire fighting foam appliances. ➢ Volunteer Training: Volunteer Commander Paul Lakin reported having good community support. Through their website, people are asking to volunteer. Two companies in the Pahoa area have been responding to the brush fires. New recruits were sized for boots. The next captains' meeting will be on May 16 in Pahala. ➢ EMS Bureau: They are working closely with the State Legislature for a Puna Medic Bill to fund additional 24 hours of Advanced Life Support Ambulance service for the District of Puna. Recruits continue with EMS training. Hands on CPR continues at Waiakea and Hilo High Schools. They met with the American Heart Association Regional Account Manager on the training center and the role and responsibilities of the training coordinator position. The Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) program continues to move forward. It was activated multiple times in February. ➢ Prevention Bureau: They had five fire investigations this month. The smoke detector project continues. They did home inspection and smoke detector installations in Ka'u. They had excess grant funds and were able to purchase 850 more smoke detectors.