Episode 35: Fire Prevention Week
On this episode of the One O'ahu Podcast, Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) Deputy Fire Chief Jason Samala joins host Brandi Higa to discuss ongoing efforts on Maui following the devastating fires in Lahaina, Fire Prevention Week, and the use of sirens for emergency vehicles.
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Help in Maui County
In the months following the devastating wildfires that tore through Lahaina, Maui, the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) has had an incident management team providing assistance in the Maui Emergency Operation Center. On this week’s episode of the One O‘ahu Podcast, HFD Deputy Chief Jason Samala begins by describing the type of work that team from O‘ahu did on Maui.
Fire Prevention Week
The City and County of Honolulu observes Fire Prevention Week each year, along with the nation, during the week of October 9th in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire that occurred on October 8, 1871, and killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 individuals homeless, and destroyed more than 17,400 structures. Fire Prevention Week celebrates fire safety awareness, highlights the importance of this week, and supports the mission to provide for safer communities.
This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Cooking safety starts with YOU. Pay attention to fire prevention,” aims to educate everyone about simple, but important, actions they can take to keep themselves and their ‘ohana safe when cooking.
For additional resources on keeping your home and loved ones safe this Fire Prevention Week, visit the Honolulu Fire Department website at https://fire.honolulu.gov/.
Emergency vehicle sirens
A topic that came up at a handful of Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s Town Hall meetings was the use of sirens on emergency vehicles. Do they need to be so loud and do they need to blare at all hours of the night, even in neighborhoods with no other vehicles on the roadway?
On this episode of the One Oahu Podcast, Deputy Chief Samala explains that the fire department follows the Hawai’i Revised Statutes as it relates to authorized emergency vehicles.
“All you need is that one car that doesn’t see you going through the intersection and then an accident occurs,” added Samala.
