Fire Department uses tank to battle Manoa brush fire

Question: I watched the (Honolulu) Fire Department helicopter make many water drops on the brush fire behind the University of Hawaii and up to Waahila Ridge recently. I am curious: Where did they refill their water bucket each time? How fortunate we are to have our Fire Department!

Answer: Various water sources are utilized when the Honolulu Fire Department battles wildfires with helicopter water drops, said HFD spokesman Capt. David Jenkins.

For the Manoa brush fire, HFD used a portable water tank filled from a nearby fire hydrant at Kanewai Community Park.

HFD’s helicopter, Air 1, "dips its bucket in this buoyed wall tank for quick refills in its water drop operation," Jenkins explained. "This portable tank is similar to inflatable swimming pools you might see families enjoying on a hot summer day, only bigger."

There was no estimate as to how many trips Air 1 had to make for the Manoa fire.

The bucket, which can hold 100 gallons of water, "is suspended at 75 feet below the helicopter, a length that is short enough to facilitate controllability and yet long enough to minimize the effects of the rotor wash on the bucket," Jenkins said. "HFD pilots strive to complete a circuit from the water source to the fire and back within two minutes."

He said the placement of the portable tank therefore is crucial in these situations.

Question: When I am driving on a two-lane highway and an ambulance approaches from the opposite side, do I need to pull over and stop? I couldn’t find the answer in the traffic manual.

Answer: In general, if motorists hear a warning signal and/or see a flashing light of an emergency vehicle, they are required to "provide a clear path and stop," according to the state Department of Transportation’s Hawaii Driver’s Manual.

The manual doesn’t specify whether the emergency vehicle is approaching from the rear or from the opposite direction.

"This is a really good question," said Wayne Kruse, assistant chief of operations for the Honolulu Emergency Services Department.

He said that in his experience, approaching drivers will pull over toward the right, slow down or even stop, then wait for the ambulance to pass.

"We really appreciate this because there is always a chance the ambulance will want to turn into a driveway crossing over that lane of traffic, or we may be trying to locate an address and suddenly need to move to the oncoming lane during that process," Kruse said.

But EMS employees don’t take it for granted that motorists will yield to the ambulance.

Thus, in emergency driving training, EMS officials "teach that the use of emergency lights and the siren is a request for the right of way to proceed," Kruse said. The warning devices are "not an entitlement to the right of way, and paramedics are essentially asking other motorists to yield the right of way for the ambulance to proceed."

Meanwhile, the Hawaii Driver’s Manual says motorists hearing and/or seeing an approaching emergency vehicle should:

» Reduce speed.

» Determine where the vehicle is coming from.

» Move the vehicle out of its path toward the edge of the road and stop.

» If the emergency vehicle is behind in heavy traffic, keep moving slowly until they can get out of the way.

Motorists are cautioned, "Don’t panic and jam on the brakes."

The procedure outlined in the manual "pretty well describes the courteous activity of drivers we encounter giving EMS the opportunity to safely move quickly through the roadways," Kruse said. "We don’t have enough opportunity to tell the public thank you wholeheartedly for their cooperation."

Mahalo

To Grant Okamoto at the state Capitol. He spent 20 minutes attempting to help me locate "The Speak Truth to Power" art exhibit recently. We never found it (the exhibit was over), but I had a quick tour of the building itself. I appreciated Grant’s time and willingness to help. — Carol J. Holverson

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