Nanakuli residents will get a chance to air their concerns this week on a proposal to dispose of a large cache of fireworks — remnants of the fatal 2011 Waikele storage bunker explosion — by shooting them off at a property in their neighborhood.
The U.S. Department of Treasury tapped Grucci Inc., a professional fireworks display company, to dispose of the fireworks, which were seized after being illegally shipped to Honolulu, said Steven Chang, chief of the Department of Health’s Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch.
A public notice ran in Tuesday’s legal ad section of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that said Grucci was seeking an emergency permit to store and dispose of fireworks, but the notice failed to provide any information on a comment period.
The Health Department has until Nov. 28 to receive public comment before it may grant a 90-day permit, which is expected to be renewed for another 90 days, to Grucci to set off 5,400 pyrotechnic devices on a property owned by Robert Hoohuli at 87-879 Paakea Road.
The notion has some neighbors up in arms.
"It’s not a chicken farm in the middle of 10 acres," resident Alicia Maluafiti said. "There are houses with families next door. How does the state think they can get away with that? … People live on their land, and they have animals on 2- to 3-acre lots.
"Aerials are a danger to the health and safety of the families, in addition to the animals," she said. "These are the same fireworks that exploded in Waikele, and you’re going to allow this guy to warehouse them on their property with families living around them? … You’re going to pop this off over the driest part of the island? That’s incredible. It’s going to be loud and dangerous."
Nanakuli-Maili Neighborhood Board Chairwoman Cynthia Rezentes placed the matter on the agenda for the board’s meeting Tuesday. She said the board did not learn of the matter until she was contacted Tuesday by the Star-Advertiser, and she hopes to have a Health Department official and others there who can provide answers.
"It’s not fair to drop this like a hot potato and scurry for cover," said Rezentes. "There needs to be open communication with the community."
Rezentes said there was confusion as to whether this was a "done deal," but the Health Department denies that.
"The permit is not a ‘done deal,’ and based on the comments received, DOH (Department of Health) has alternatives, one of which is denying the permit application," spokeswoman Janice Okubo said in an email.
Chang said Tuesday that the devices are the type used in public displays, such as at the Hilton Hawaiian Village shows, and would be placed in a tube and set off from a chicken farm at that location.
However, a Honolulu fire official said the fireworks are not the type of display fireworks that fly up hundreds of feet.
Rather, they are classified as 1.4G fireworks, a designation for less powerful pyrotechnic devices that shoot up 20 to 30 feet, and will be set off in small amounts that last from 30 seconds to less than two minutes, said Assistant Fire Chief Socrates Bratakos.
"A huge display like the Hilton (Hawaiian Village) lasts four to five minutes," he said. "That’s 20 times the amount being proposed."
At least that is what was represented at talks with Grucci Inc. and various government officials, said Bratakos, who oversees the Honolulu Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau, which issues fireworks permits.
Sophie Manasala, who lives near the proposed site, said, "If they’re going to incrementally shoot them off, that is not acceptable where there is livestock."
She said a few shipping containers sit on the property but that it doesn’t appear to be a chicken farm. However, a large egg farm is right next door.
Manasala pointed out that the Navy owns property across Paakea Road from the site, and wondered aloud whether they had been consulted.
"They don’t like the idea of fire," she said.
A wildfire on the Navy property a few years back spread to Paakea Road, she said.
Chang said the plan was to have a portion of the 5,400 pyrotechnic devices blown off once every month for six months, amounting to 900 devices at a time.
Grucci will have to obtain a permit from the Fire Prevention Bureau as well, but Bratakos said it hasn’t received an application yet. Bratakos said a small fireworks display has been allowed at that location before.
The Fire Department issues 120 firework displays a year on Oahu, about 100 of them for the Hilton’s shows, he said.
Bratakos said he is always concerned about fires, and has stopped fireworks displays at the Wet’n‘Wild water park because there was too much brush in the area.
"The Fire Department can stop the display at any time," he said. "We have stopped it on the day of shows if there is not enough fire protection. … We won’t approve it if it’s next to houses."
He listed a number of requirements including having landowner approval, insurance, a license, permit, certificate of fitness and a prior site inspection.
"We always ask the people conducting the display to notify the neighbors," he said.
Grucci Inc. representative Tom Likos said he was instructed by the Treasury Department not to comment on the matter.
