When Honolulu City and County Ocean Safety lifeguards arrived for duty at Maili Beach Park on Tuesday morning, they were shaken to discover that both lifeguard towers on the peaceful, remote West Side beach had been broken into overnight and essential gear was missing.

Most of the life-saving equipment stored in the towers had been stolen, including a first-aid kit, rescue tube, masks, fins and binoculars valued at nearly $2,000, the division reported to the Honolulu Police Department on Tuesday, and an additional $600 in damage was inflicted on the towers, Ocean Safety Chief John Titchen said.

“It’s disappointing when you come to work and find that,” Titchen said, noting the Ocean Safety Division promptly replaced equipment and repaired both towers Tuesday, but coping with such disruptions “takes lifeguards away from their primary duties.”

>> PHOTOS: Lifeguard towers broken into at Maili Beach Park

Lifeguards rely on having equipment in place so they can respond to emergencies without delay. That requires storing essential gear in the towers, although space is limited, he said. “We really need our tools to be available to save lives.”

Asked if the Maili break-ins were an isolated incident, “Unfortunately, it happens from time to time all around the island,” the chief replied, asking that the public remember the life-saving equipment used by lifeguards is critical for quick response on Oahu’s beaches and in nearshore waters.

Particularly now during the COVID-19 pandemic, oceangoing risks are heightened, with gyms and exercise classes closed and people unemployed or working and schooling remotely, many with flexible hours that allow for outdoor activities, Titchen said.

“(Lifeguards) have never been, in my opinion, more relevant than during this ongoing crisis, where we are seeing so many people more coming to the beach to recreate.”

And during the winter holiday season, waters off the long, pristine white crescent of Maili Beach and other beaches along Oahu’s leeward, north and windward shores are subject to high surf and strong, dangerous currents, according to John R.K. Clark’s book “Beaches of O‘ahu.”

Ocean Safety has 41 towers positioned around Oahu, and more than 240 lifeguards are on duty seven days a week to protect beachgoers and ocean users, with coverage augmented by mobile units, Titchen said.

He added that towers suffer a lot of wear and tear, and the department is in the process of replacing all of them. In the past two years, five new towers have been placed at Kualoa, Chun’s, Haleiwa, Sandy and Waimanalo beach parks.

“And literally just (Wednesday) we received three brand-new towers we’re going to be putting out,” he added. “We’re now working on exact locations, but we do plan to replace them on the leeward coast and at Ehukai Beach Park by Pipeline.”

Titchen expressed appreciation for “the tremendous support Ocean Safety personnel receives from communities on the West Side and all around the island.” He asked the public’s kokua in reminding people that lifeguard towers and their contents are integral to saving lives.