Members of the West Maui Improvement Foundation and West Maui residents gather for a blessing ceremony late last month at the proposed site of a new fire station in Olawalu. Photo courtesy West Maui Improvement Foundation

A group of West Maui residents have forged their own “miracle” in securing land for a new fire station in Olawalu, and this time they won’t have to pay for the firetruck.

Joseph Pluta and other members of the West Maui Improvement Foundation held a blessing on the plot of land in late June that will become home to the Olawalu fire station. On Monday, Pluta, the organization’s president, said the group was conveyed access to a deed from the Olawalu Homes Inc. to five acres of land that will house the fire station.

Put simply, rather than waiting for the county to do something, the foundation acted privately to secure the land for the station.

“This is a miracle in process, unparalleled anywhere in the state of Hawaii,” Pluta said.

According to Pluta, the deed for the Olowalu fire station was officially recorded with the state Bureau of Conveyances.

The foundation also has purchased a modular, pre-fab firehouse structure assembled in Canada for just under $3 million with donated funds. Pluta said it is difficult to say exactly when the structure might arrive.

According to the foundation, it got its start in 1990 and marked the beginning of a new era in fire safety and emergency response.

Pluta, who lost his home and business during the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire, said he and others had long tried to alert the county that West Maui needed greater fire protection, and this is not his or the foundation’s first foray into a largely private-public partnership to build a fire station.

“We did it 26 years ago in Napili,” he said, referring to the private creation of a fire and ambulance station, adding the group even had to pay for the fire engine.

He said the county was on board with permitting and that work had to be done grading the land preparing the platform for the structure.

And this time they won’t have to pay for the fire engine.

A special blessing ceremony was held on the site by Pastor Laki Kaʻahumanu, joined by directors of the West Maui Improvement Foundation and West Maui Taxpayers Association, community members and supporters, all united in celebration of the achievement.

Organizers said a groundbreaking ceremony will be announced soon.

The future fire station is seen as a critical asset for the region that will help ensure faster response times and greater protection for the community and its natural resources, especially in the face of increasing wildfire threats.

For more, go to www.wminfc.org or www.westmaui.org.