It brings considerable relief that Herman Andaya, administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) when Lahaina was burning, resigned last Thursday. There really was no coming back from MEMA’s controversial decision to not activate any warning sirens during the Aug. 8-9 Lahaina inferno — and when eight days later, Andaya expressed no regrets over keeping the sirens silent and gave a tortured rationale for that decision.

Going forward, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen must appoint a new emergency leader who — unlike Andaya — has in-the-field expertise and first-responder decision- making skills, to restore public confidence in the county’s disaster response. Credibility has been lost among many residents, amid complaints of inadequate warnings leading up to the deadliest fire in modern U.S. history. The wildfire quickly raged out of control to burn Lahaina virtually to the ground — killing at least 111 people, with more to come, and causing billions of dollars of damage to homes, buildings and businesses.

MEMA and its leaders are entrusted with quickly alerting the public on major dangers, via various forms of mass notification at their disposal. Chief among these is the state’s touted All-Hazard Statewide Outdoor Warning Siren System, with its vital mission defined on the state’s own website: “The all-hazard siren system can be used for a variety of both natural and human-caused events; including tsunamis, hurricanes, dam breaches, flooding, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, terrorist threats, hazardous material incidents, and more.”

So it was ludicrous to hear Andaya — as Maui’s top emergency official in a Wednesday news conference — give a string of weak explanations as to why no sirens were sounded. The sirens are mainly for tsunami use, he said, and so even if they had been sounded, people would have headed mauka, toward the wildfire because “the public is trained to seek higher ground” when sirens go off. Further, he said, many people were indoors with air conditioners running so wouldn’t have heard the sirens anyway.

No, no, no.

Many know the sirens as a danger alert. And after hearing the many harrowing stories of escape and horror from those fleeing the Lahaina fire, it’s clear that even mere minutes of warning made the difference between life or death.

And while MEMA did push out alerts via cellphone texts, radio and TV, it should have been aware that as the wildfires quickly spread on Aug. 8, power and much communication – including 911 and cell phone service – were cut off or spotty.

There’s no doubt that the Maui fires spread very quickly. But that would seem even more reason to activate the sirens to give the most blaring and broadest alert — which at least would have prompted more people to look outside, see the heavy smoke and fire, and have a chance for escape.

Review of decision-making over the disaster doesn’t end with Andaya, of course. Critical to garnering the full scope of lessons learned will be two investigations now underway into the decisions and actions before, during and after the inferno bore down on Lahaina. These probes must be robust and candid, in order to help improve counties’ and state emergency responses:

>> Previously directed by the governor to review actions related to the Maui disaster, state Attorney General Anne Lopez on Thursday said she is now hiring a third-party private entity with experience in emergency management and processes to “assess the performance of state and county agencies” over the wildfires.

>> The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ National Response Team is now on Maui to work with local officials to determine the origin and cause of the Lahaina wildfire, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

When it comes to preparedness over the Lahaina tragedy, the activation of sirens is but one major component of complexities yet to be untangled. The many lives lost this month cannot be recovered — but improving warning systems, training and coordinated response must occur. Lives, in the future, will depend on it.