The 19 members of the Maui Fire Department who lost their homes and worldly possessions while fighting the Aug. 8 firestorms are receiving temporary homes and help from California.
The first five of 17 recreational vehicle campers is scheduled to arrive Wednesday on Maui.
Robert Lee, president of the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association, the union representing about 1,900 active- duty and 1,000 retired county and state firefighters, told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser in an interview that their biggest concern right now is the behavioral, mental and emotional health of their members and their families.
“This was absolutely horrific. Unprecedented. You’re talking about firefighters on duty, fighting fires, knowing they won’t have a home to go home to in the morning,” said Lee, who has been to Maui to help members.
One Maui firefighter responding to a call passed by his own home that was ablaze “and had to keep going,” he said.
“This is going to be a tough deal for everyone over there,” said Lee, who has heard from firefighters around the country offering to help.
After word of Lahaina’s demise went global, one of the first calls Lee received was a pledge of assistance from Brian Rice, state president of the California Professional Firefighters organization.
Rice called California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who conveyed the state’s support to Gov. Josh Green.
Rice said he also contacted Emergency RV in California, which is donating 17 RVs to help Maui firefighters who lost their homes.
“Five of them are ready to be shipped to Hawaii and expected to arrive on Maui by the end of this month, followed by the rest of the donated campers,” Lee said. “They have also set up a donation website through their nonprofit foundation, the California Fire Foundation, and 100% of those proceeds will be sent to HFFA to administer aid to our Maui members who need help.”
Pasha Hawaii is shipping the RVs to Maui for free.
Maui Fire Chief Bradford Ventura told the Star- Advertiser the department is thankful for the help.
“We are very grateful for the support we have from our union and the locals across the nation,” Ventura said.
Lee noted that much of Lahaina was old structures built before asbestos and lead were outlawed. When that kind of material burns and degrades due to extreme heat, exposure to the toxic waste can be deadly.
“It’s basically a hazmat incident now when you look at all of the debris that is left over there. The cleanup is going to be fierce,” Lee said. “No different than what happened at 9/11 when our firefighters were exposed, got cancer and died. It’s kind of the same environment.”
Tending to the mental health of firefighters on Maui and statewide is a union priority.
The trauma of the fatal fires is not the first tragedy Maui firefighters have felt this year.
On Jan. 27, firefighter Tre’ Evans-Dumaran was swept into a storm drain by powerful floodwaters while assisting public safety personnel in South Kihei. He was dragged over 800 feet through the drain where it emptied into the ocean.
Evans-Dumaran, 24, was rescued by his crew and transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center, where he died Feb. 4.
Lee said peer counselors in each fire department are working with members. Like a lot of local people, firefighters have friends and family on every island.
A tragedy on the scale of the Lahaina fires touches all, Lee said.
“We’re all connected between the islands,” he said. “It affects all the firefighters throughout the state.”
Honolulu firefighters went to Maui to help in the wake of the fires.
On Aug. 18 the Honolulu Fire Department got a request from the County of Maui’s Department of Fire and Public Safety to provide dive support and incident management team members, according to a news release.
With the help of Hawaiian Airlines, HFD sent eight dive technicians to Maui on Aug. 19 to conduct search and recovery operations in Lahaina Harbor.
Maui police have said one body was recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard in the waters off Lahaina.
Three IMT members from Honolulu arrived on Maui Aug. 20 to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Maui Emergency Operations Center.
All HFD personnel are expected to return to Oahu sometime this week, according to the release.
“However, the HFD will remain flexible and make adjustments accordingly as we continue to serve our island communities and support our brothers and sisters on Maui,” read a statement from the department.
TO DONATE
>> For Maui citizens and firefighters, go to hawaiifirefighters.org
>> The California Fire Foundation has established a Maui Wildfire Relief Fund. CFF’s disaster relief programs provide assistance to the victims, firefighters and communities that are affected by natural disaster. Go to cpf.salsalabs.org/MauiWildfireRelief2023/index.html
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Advertiser staff writer Christie Wilson contributed to this report.
