City water rescue teams will study consolidation

City Emergency Services and Fire Department officials have agreed to compile a report looking into the feasibility of consolidating ocean safety services.

The City Council’s Public Health, Safety and Welfare Committee last week passed a resolution requesting the information by April. The report will look at the feasibility of placing all responsibilities under either the city’s Emergency Services Department’s Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division or the Honolulu Fire Department. The measure will go to the full Council for a final vote.

Introduced by Council members Kymberly Pine and Ron Menor, the resolution had initially urged the city to consider consolidating services under the Emergency Services Department. The measure was deferred in August over concerns about staffing, training and funding.

In addition to the feasibility report, the resolution calls for statements from the affected city departments either supporting or opposing the consolidation, an outline and timeline for a potential reorganization plan, estimated costs, and information on the effects on bargaining units.

In a proposal made by Pine, the resolution also asks the city to evaluate the feasibility of combining ocean safety training, or allowing the Ocean Safety division to take the lead on training.

“I would imagine that if their (lifeguards and firefighters) training is different and they’re all being called to the same ocean incident … then perhaps there may be some conflict out in the water,” Pine said. “I would ultimately like to see action, but it is a complicated issue. Before the action is taken, there needs to be a coming together and an analysis.”

The Ocean Safety division employs about 240 lifeguards who cover about 200 miles of coastline. The Honolulu Fire Department, as mandated by the City Charter, also provides emergency responses in the sea and trains all of its nearly 1,130 firefighters in basic water rescue skills.