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MFD seeks new tanker to meet Upcountry demand

Kula Fire Station responding to 600 incidents annually across massive district

The Maui Fire Department is proposing a new fire tanker in Kula to assist with the growing number of calls Upcountry, help with response time and water resources and combat the increase in wildfires in the Kahikinui and Kaupo areas.

Between 2017 to 2021, the number of fire alarms initiated annually in the Upcountry area has increased each year, according to newly appointed Maui County Fire Chief Brad Ventura, who discussed upgrades to emergency services in Kula during a virtual Kula Community Association meeting last month.

“It is a lot of space for us to cover,” he said. “The calls for service in this district continue to rise as the community continues to grow. Right now, we’re topping out at about 600 incidents that the Kula Fire Station goes to every year.”

The nearest tanker is currently in Kahului, where the driving time to get Upcountry is over 30 minutes, so any large wildfires require Kula District 13 to contract other tankers, Ventura said.

The nearest fire station is in Makawao, nearly 6 miles away, and is home to one engine.

A new tanker in Kula would help with response time and resources Upcountry, as well as serve all the areas of South and Central Maui as needed.

Most of Kula is protected by standpipes, and although more and more hydrants are popping up in neighborhoods, a tanker would “assist with water supply for us at structure fires that are around standpipe neighborhoods,” Ventura said.

“For us in Kula, I live in Kula myself, the recurring drought conditions that we see every year are becoming more common,” he added.

Rylan Yatsushiro, Fire Services Chief for the Department of Fire & Public Safety, said last week that the new tanker being proposed in the fiscal year 2023 budget will be about $750,000.

“I totally support the purchase of a Fire Tanker and for it to be sheltered in District 13,” Maui County Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura, who holds the Upcountry residency seat, said last week via email to The Maui News. “Chief Brad Ventura wisely shared that this fire tanker could then help a broader area. Also, I hope he also will keep that tanker truck upcountry to help us with any brush fires or needs of our large landowners, farmers and residents.”

The Kula Fire Station was built in 1994 and is equipped with a fire captain, one fire driver and three firefighters, as well as two vehicles — Engine 13 and Mini 13.

The two fire vehicles service the largest district in the county, covering the whole Kula area and out toward Kaupo and Kahikinui, which is why there’s “always some sort of need for a four-wheel drive vehicle in the rural areas,” Ventura said.

Among the many goals and initiatives outlined in MFD’s five-year strategic plan, one is to develop an expansion schedule for resources, department operations and training facilities to improve service to the community.

This schedule can be based on factors that include, but are not limited to, population, call volume, district coverage size and community plans, according to the report.

For better coverage of Upcountry for servicing medical and fire calls, the Fire Department is already anticipating a new fire engine for District 13, which was budgeted for the current fiscal year.

Ventura said that the project is underway to build the truck, which will take about 18 months, and have it ready for use from the Kula Fire Station by May 2023.

That new fire engine will cost about $930,000, while the firefighting equipment needed to outfit this new engine will cost around $200,000, Yatsushiro.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

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