The Hawaii Fire Fighters Association (HFFA) serves as the bargaining representative for some 1,900 active-duty and 1,000 retired firefighters in Honolulu, other counties and firefighters protecting our state airports. Its leader, Bobby Lee, has held the president’s post for nearly two decades.

In addition to negotiating salaries and various employment benefits, the union weighs in on matters ranging from firefighter safety to fire department management issues. In the aftermath of the seven-alarm Marco Polo tower blaze in mid-July, HFFA is responding to complaints from members who say they did not have the right resources to respond as efficiently as possible to the city’s largest-ever high-rise fire, which caused more than $100 million in damage. Three residents were killed, and a fourth died after being hospitalized.

Lee, a Waipahu native, recalls that as a teenager he had no clue what he wanted to do after earning a Kamehameha Schools diploma until one of his older brothers, who worked for the Federal Fire Department at Schofield Army Base, encouraged him to take the Honolulu Fire Department’s entry exam.

“I took the test two weeks after my graduation. I turned 18 at the end of December, and the HFD hired me a month-and-a half later. I was an ‘adult kid’ in a man’s job, working with men that had kids my age or older,” Lee said. “The guys that I worked with became my brothers and my parents and they helped me grow up and become an adult. That is the primary reason why I have the passion that I do to help and protect our firefighters.

“The HFD and the fire service was never just a job or even a career. It’s an extension of my family, the place where I grew up.”

Question: The City Council is weighing a bill that calls for older high-rise buildings, such as the Marco Polo, to be retrofitted with sprinklers. (Since 1975, the city has required new high-rises to be so equipped.) Thoughts?

Answer: I think sprinklers are a great fire protection tool, and for the most part, can be attributed to saving lives. But as for passing a retrofit law to mandate the installation of fire sprinklers, I have concerns.

Laws should be based on being enforceable, not reactionary or emotional. I don’t see a mandated retrofit law passing this test. I don’t believe it’s enforceable. It’s been tried in other big cities and the law became nothing more than a suggestion rather than a mandate.

… There needs to be a complete and objective report on the cause and details of this incident prior to creating any kind of law like this. And for many of the residents, most of them elderly and many on fixed incomes, it doesn’t make sense to create an extra financial burden on them and others when it may be unnecessary, especially when much more cost-effective solutions are available based on the actual cause and reasons for the magnitude of destruction from this fire.

Q:What sorts of complaints has HFFA received from members regarding response to the fire?

A: The most concerning complaints … are centered on a lack of leadership from the HFD’s executive chiefs. Only a few of them showed up at the scene, including the fire chief, and none of them took leadership or command roles that were essential to a fire of this magnitude. One of those that didn’t show up was the assistant chief responsible for all of our Fire Operations personnel. He canceled his own dispatch to this fire and also canceled the Mobile Command Center vehicle dispatch — a command vehicle purchased for major incidents such as this.

… This fire demanded more engaged leaders. We are addressing our concerns with the Honolulu Fire Commission.

Q: How has firefighting changed since your early years with HFD?

A:Looking back, when I started in 1975, probably the most changes came in the area of increasing firefighter safety through better safety equipment. At that time, our fire turnout coats and pants were made out of green canvas that would catch fire, rubberized gloves that would get hot enough to melt, boots that should be used only for performing yard work and plastic-type helmets that would also melt or sometimes crack with impact. Half the challenge in keeping yourself safe was making sure your equipment didn’t fail.

… Life was a lot simpler, fewer rules … and you focused on what you thought was the right thing to do. Also back then, the fire department responded to primarily fires. Currently, firefighters respond to more medical incidents than fires, but that doesn’t lessen the importance of being properly prepared to handle fire incidents.

Also, a major shift in the fire service everywhere came on Sept. 11, 2001. The twin towers came crashing down in New York City and 343 firefighters lost their lives in one incident. This was the largest loss of firefighter lives in history. The fire service was thrust into becoming the “domestic military” and now responsible for incidents such as threats from weapons of mass destruction and chemical and hazardous materials incidents.

Q: What sort of changes do you expect to see in firefighting here over the next decade or so?

A: I think you will see more focus on firefighter safety because of incidents such as the Marco Polo fire. A firefighter, even when doing everything correctly and with the current safety equipment available, still has a life-threatening job and also a much increased risk in comparison to the general public of developing different cancers and respiratory diseases.

… In addition, fire departments will have to invest more attention and resources to addressing firefighter behavioral health problems — no different than the military — for issues such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and suicides, which regrettably have been on the rise in the fire service.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your job as HFFA president?

A: Being in a position that allows me to be part of the process to make and support positive changes for Hawaii’s fire departments, the public and our members. Just like being a firefighter, it’s about helping people.

Q: Over the years, as a firefighter, what have you found most challenging?

A: During the 21 of my 36 years in the fire service as a fire captain … it would have to be responding to alarms and finding a way to fix problems. Firefighting is all about adapting. A lot of times the emergency calls are fairly standard and not too off-base, but every now and then you get a weird one that forces you to think out of the box.

Q: Most rewarding?

A: Coming to work every day, working with a good group of firefighters and not knowing what we were going to have to do but for sure it would be things connected in some way to helping people and/or protecting the public. … When you make your plans for the day, the alarm bell rings and your plans immediately change because there’s something much more important to do.

Q: Any advice for someone considering a firefighting career here?

A: First and foremost, it is a profession that is based on helping people. If you don’t have an overwhelming desire to help people, individuals that you don’t even know and most likely will not see again, then this job is not for you.

There is also a grave misconception that being a firefighter is all fun and games. Yes, our members have fun on the job, lots of practical jokes and bantering. Partly it’s the culture and partly as a stress relief because it is also a very demanding and dangerous job. I honestly cannot count how many times I could’ve gotten seriously hurt or died on this job. Like a lot of firefighters I can sit for hours and talk about all the “near misses” I’ve had on this job.

… There is a dark side to this career. You will see and experience death and destruction, families’ lives altered forever. You will respond to incidents that will push you to the limit, physically, emotionally and mentally. You will take home thoughts and memories that you will not forget and may haunt you for the rest of your life.

During my early days on the job it was not “manly” to show any kind of weakness on the job and you just had to suck it up. So you ended up taking your feelings home, sometimes taking your issues out on your family and not even realizing it.

Firefighting is a very rewarding career, sometimes misunderstood and many times underestimated. It’s definitely not for everyone, but anyone interested should seriously consider the totality of the job.