The Honolulu Fire Department announced Wednesday that it has asked Honolulu police to investigate the unauthorized release of unspecified HFD documents regarding the July 14 Marco Polo high-rise fire that killed three people.
“Pending the completion of the investigation, the HFD has no further comment on this issue,” HFD said.
Hawaii Fire Fighters Association President Bobby Lee criticized reporting the document release to police, calling it a waste of time and government resources.
“They should be concentrating on the issues rather than trying to find somebody to punish,” the union leader said. “I don’t think any of the information that was released is confidential. I think all that is public information.”
He said the documents he was shown by some media contained HFD timelines, which fire companies responded, and who did what. Lee criticized HFD’s failure to require firefighters to bag personal protective equipment after the fire in a building known to contain asbestos.
He questioned HFD’s failure to use its mobile command center, which contains communications equipment for use with other agencies and helicopters, has cameras to monitor a fire, and provides a location isolated from the general public for incident commanders to concentrate.
He also criticized HFD for its use of battalion chiefs rather than higher executive officers to command firefighters at a large-scale fire.
While the fire chief, a deputy and an assistant chief were on the scene, none of them took over command of the fire, he said.
Smoke spurs evacuation of observatory
The W.M. Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea was evacuated Wednesday afternoon due to a smoke alarm sounding in the Keck II control room.
Smoke emanated from an air-conditioning unit at about 3 p.m., but there were no visible flames, the observatory’s chief of operations said in a news release.
The smoke may have resulted from an electrical problem.
About 17 summit crew members were working at the time, but no one was injured and no damage occurred to the facility other than the air conditioner. The Pohakuloa Fire Department determined by 5 p.m. that it was safe to re-enter the building.
Woman held in assault with a metal pipe
Police arrested a 32-year-old woman after she allegedly assaulted her 70-year-old boyfriend with a metal pipe in Waianae.
Police said the suspect struck the victim with the pipe at about 4:25 p.m Tuesday. The man suffered a cardiac arrest and was transported to a hospital in critical condition.
Police said his condition was later upgraded to “serious but stable condition.”
Police arrested the woman in Waianae shortly after on suspicion of second-degree assault.
Man charged in robbery at Pearl City ATM
A 30-year-old man has been charged after he allegedly robbed a 74-year-old man at an automated teller machine in Pearl City.
Dayton K. Laimana was charged Tuesday for second-degree robbery. His bail was set at $30,000.
Police said the victim was using an ATM around 6:35 p.m. June 2 as the suspect later identified as Laimana stood behind him. Once the machine dispensed an undisclosed amount of cash, Laimana used physical force and took the money from the 74-year-old man.
Police said Laimana turned himself in at the police department’s Alapai headquarters Monday afternoon.
