Question: Would a blender kill any causer of rat lungworm that might be on uncooked vegetables — for example, on fresh kale in a smoothie?

Answer: No, you can’t count on a blender’s blades to kill rat lungworms. You are not the only reader to ask, so we’ll emphasize: Avoid putting the parasite in the blender in the first place by washing each leaf of kale separately with plain tap water. Any raw leafy green, such as spinach, lettuce or kale, should be washed this way. Don’t just rinse off the whole head of kale at once and shake it off. You might miss a small, nearly translucent slug and accidentally consume it.

“The blades of a blender may chop up a snail, though maybe not a tiny one, but they certainly will not chop up any worms that are released from a chopped-up snail, as the worms are microscopic at this stage. Indeed, smoothies are thought to be a major pathway of infection in certain places (for example, in Taiwan),” Robert H. Cowie, a research professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Pacific Biosciences Research Center, told Kokua Line via email.

Humans can become infected when they intentionally or accidentally ingest raw or undercooked snails, slugs, freshwater shrimp, land crabs and frogs, which are intermediate hosts for the parasitic roundworm. In humans the disease affects the brain and spinal cord, sometimes severely. The state Department of Health has updated its website with easy-to-understand information about rat lungworm disease, which you can read at 808ne.ws/ratlunginfo.

Q: With the summer brush fire season soon upon us, I wondered whether the Honolulu Fire Department accepts volunteer firefighters. Rural areas can use all the help they can get.

A: No, there are no volunteer fire companies on Oahu.

The department does have a mentoring program that shows teenagers and young adults what it’s like to be a firefighter, but participants don’t function as a volunteer fire brigade. The HFD Fire Explorers Program is designed to help participants become mature, responsible adults, no matter what line of work they eventually enter. For more information about the program, call HFD’s Support Services at 723-7115.

E kala mai

I am very sorry that I tried to steal macadamia nut candies from a store at Kahala Mall on April 12. I put five on the counter to pay for but kept three in my pocket. The manager noticed. … You have seen in cartoons and comic strips where a character has an angel on one shoulder saying, “Don’t do it,” and on the other is the devil telling them, “Go ahead, everybody is doing it.” That is me. Temptation and bad luck come together. Not only is it embarrassing, but how do you tell your grandchildren that their 85-year-old grandfather got caught trying to steal? It’s also too embarrassing to sign my name. I have no excuse. — Remorseful reader

Mahalo

On April 8 I was at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for the Associated Chinese University Women’s scholarship fundraiser and fashion show. That morning, I was running late and was thinking, “I hope I find a parking space in their lot.” I got there right before the doors to the luncheon opened. Afterward I remembered I was on the second level, but I couldn’t remember in what section of the garage I had parked my car. I would sincerely like to thank a young woman who was kind enough to drive me around to find my car. She said she was a schoolteacher, but I didn’t get a chance to ask her name. I didn’t think I would ever forget where I parked my car. Now I know what it feels like to start getting old. — Many mahalos, Marsha

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.