A 23-year veteran fire captain is alleging retaliation for speaking out in December that the death of a woman whom he carried out of a burning house could have been prevented had several critical errors not been made by the Honolulu Fire Department.

Attorney Venetia Carpenter-Asui filed a lawsuit Friday on behalf of Capt. George K. Kaopuiki against the Honolulu Fire Department and Honolulu Fire Chief Kenneth Silva in which he alleges a violation of his free speech rights and for violating the Hawaii Whistleblowers’ Protection Act.

The complaint, filed in Circuit Court, says Kaopuiki verbally reported that fire personnel made numerous serious mistakes that could have caused the death of the woman from a fire at her single-family home.

The mistakes include not hooking up to a fire hydrant to ensure an ample water supply; and not starting a rescue search sooner because a sufficient water supply had not been secured early on, Kaopuiki told five fire captains and an acting battalion chief during a December 2011 meeting.

Capt. Gary Lum declined to comment because the department has not seen the lawsuit.