Union, fire chief must cooperate for safety’s sake

The footage of a Honolulu firefighter falling 30 feet from a basket during a helicopter rescue of a hiker on Diamond Head underscores the real hazards of the profession.

That the fall comes just months after the death of a firefighter during a water-training incident off Diamond Head is all the more troubling. At the very least it should generate a heightened awareness of safety and training among the Honolulu Fire Department’s (HFD) leadership as well as rank and file.

Investigations are pending in both incidents, but the circumstances surrounding them raise questions about safety precautions and procedures. The Hawaii Fire Fighters Association (HFFA) has called for HFD Chief Manuel Neves to step down, saying he has failed to put firefighter safety first.

This call may be premature; statistics show the number of injuries reported among the 1,200 firefighters and 50,000 calls answered each year is relatively low. Nonetheless, the union raises valid concerns that should be addressed.

Video footage showed no sign of a harness in use when the firefighter was knocked out of a rescue basket Sept. 2 after it hit a utility pole. That type of safety precaution can be easily remedied.

Neves said the rescue basket will only be used over the ocean in the future, which is a decent first step. And pending the outcome of the investigation, Neves will maintain the procedures that allow the captain on the scene to make the decision on whether harnesses are used. It seems prudent, though, to require harnesses in virtually every situation.

In June, firefighter Clifford Rigsbee died in a water training accident involving a personal watercraft and a sled. The incident prompted Neves to alter procedures: Rather than having one rider in a sled, someone will be sitting or standing next to a personal watercraft operator. Also, two watercraft will now be required during ocean drills.

HFFA President Bobby Lee said the fire department has been slow to enact changes after the fall and after the death. When exactly the procedural changes were enacted is unclear, but Neves made them public during a Friday news conference, the day after HFFA called for his removal.

Lee said firefighters still don’t know what happened in the water-training incident. In order to prevent future incidents, firefighters need to be fully informed.

Lee also argued that following the September incident, the department should restrict firefighters from using rescue baskets rather than wait months for a formal investigation to conclude.

Most weighty is the union’s contention that the department has been bombarding firefighters with various types of training that add up to many certificates for firefighters, but lack the depth and quality needed to truly keep firefighters safe.

Neves, who admitted the department had done an inadequate job communicating with the union, must take that criticism to heart. Certification in a variety of areas may be desirable, but in-depth training to hone firefighters’ core skills will go a long way toward saving lives — of both the people in need of rescue and those called on to save them.