The purchase of the Fire Department's new MD500 search and rescue helicopter allowed the department to retire an aging 28-year-old aircraft.

We are committed to public safety, which requires a commitment to readiness. That means investing in the infrastructure and equipment that our police, firefighters and other emergency response crews rely on to do their jobs – no matter what economic difficulties face the County. It also means taking the time to practice, to run drills, and emphasize preparation for emergencies so our first-responders are ready for whatever comes our way.

“I make no apologies for committing every resource. The county’s core service is public safety. Every dollar spent was a dollar well spent. Nobody should be under any illusion that things will always turn out so well. We were once again spared any devastation.”

- Mayor Billy Kenoi

Readiness Requires Planning and Practice

Mayor Billy Kenoi at the Emergency Operations Center

• Staged the first county-wide tsunami warning drill on January 27, 2009 to test our response to the threat of a tsunami.
• Successfully and safely conducted tsunami responses on February 27, 2010, when our island was threatened by a tsunami generated by an earthquake in Chile, and on March 10, 2011 when a tsunami was generated by an earthquake in Japan.
• Established a West Hawai’i Emergency Operation Center at Kealakehe Police Station linked by video conference with Civil Defense EOC in Hilo.
• Established bicycle patrols and closed-circuit cameras in Kailua-Kona, and closed-circuit cameras in downtown Hilo.
• Activated City Watch and Nixle, v0ice and email systems to notify the public of civil defense emergencies and to provide up-to-date law enforcement information. Also activated Talisman, a text-messaging system to announce civil defense alerts, and an after-hours hotline for Civil Defense to alert callers to emergency and road closure information.
• Briefed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on the geographic, economic and other issues related to extending the reach of public safety broadband access in the County of Hawai’i.

 

Civil Defense scans the Hilo Shoreline and surveys the landscape from the air

 

The new Pāhoa Police Station.

Investing in Equipment and Infrastructure

 

• Provided $1.8 million in funding for the Fire Department’s new MD500 search and rescue helicopter, which will also serve as the department’s primary firefighting aircraft. The purchase allowed the department to retire a 28-year-old helicopter.
• Completed a new fire station in Pāhoa.
• Completed a new police station and motor vehicle registration and licensing office in Pāhoa.
• Received a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant for a new water tanker for fire fighting in Pāhala.
• New volunteer fire station garages funded in Pāhala and Nā’ālehu.

The $5.3 million Pāhoa Fire Station.

• Advanced plans to upgrade our public safety and police radio system to enhance coverage and meet federal requirements.
• Pursuing plans to establish broadband infrastructure police can use to link laptop computers and other equipment in patrol cars with public safety data systems.