MARCO POLO BLAZE KILLED FOUR
PEOPLE, AND THE
HONOLULU FIRE DEPARTMENT IS JUST
WRAPPING UP NEW HIGH-RISE
GINA MANGIERI IS ALWAYS
INVESTIGATING AND DIGS DEEPER
INTO WHAT TOOK SO LONG.
A HANDFUL OF OPERATIONAL CHANGES
WERE MADE VERY QUICKLY AFTER THE
2017 FIRE, INCLUDING SOME IN
RESPONSE TO PROBLEMS ALWAYS
INVESTIGATING UNCOVERED AT THE
TIME.
THIS NEW TRAINING PROGRAM TOOK
YEARS TO DEVELOP, AND TO GET
NEARLY 1,000 FIREFIGHTERS
THROUGH THE HOMEGROWN COURSE.
DEADLY LESSONS LEARNED AT THE
MARCO POLO IN JULY 2017 LED THE
HONOLULU FIRE DEPARTMENT TO
REWRITE THE BOOK ON FIGHTING
HIGH-RISE FIRES.
00;18;53;31 OUR BASIC TECHNIQUES
THAT WE'VE DONE ALL THIS TIME
HAD WORKED JUST FINE FOR US,
MARCO POLO SHOWED US SOMETHING
DIFFERENT 57
THAT'S AN HFD CAPTAIN GOING OVER
THE CLASSROOM PORTION OF A NEW
TRAINING PROGRAM THAT JUST
WRAPPED UP CYCLING NEARLY 1,000
THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
DRILLS AT THE TRAINING CENTER
OFF NIMITZ REPLICATE THE TIGHT
TURNS, STEEP CLIMBS, SMOKE-OUT
CONDITIONS, ACCESS AND WATER-
ANGLE TRICKS -- EVEN HOW TO HOOK
UP HOSES THAT'S UNIQUE TO TALL
BUILDING FIREFIGHTING.
00;40;19;56 THIS IS NOW
STANDARD, IT'S GOING TO GO UP TO
EVERY SINGLE FIRE, EVERY TIME A
HOSE CONNECTS TO A STANDPIPE
THAT KIT SHOULD BE IN PLAY
HE'S TALKING ABOUT A NEW
HIGH-RISE KIT THEY'VE PUT
TOGETHER TO ELIMINATE
LOW-WATER-PRESSURE SURPRISES
LIKE HAPPENED AT
MARCO POLO WHERE THIS
WAS ABOUT ALL THE WATER PRESSURE
THEY GOT, WHEN IT SHOULD HAVE
BEEN THIS STRONG
. THEY GOT BIGGER HOSES AND
NOZZLES.
THIS "FLOOR BELOW" NOZZLE GIVES
THEM A NEW ANGLE OF ATTACK WHEN
FIRE IS RAGING ON A FLOOR OR
UNIT THAT IS TOO HOT TO ACCESS.
00;40;38;06 GINA: AS A CAPTAIN
IN THE HIGH RISE DISTRICT HOW DO
YOU FEEL ABOUT HAVING THESE
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND THE
TRAINING VERSUS HOW IT WAS
BEFORE? I WAS IN THE OPERATIONS
BUREAU RIGHT WHEN THE MARCO POLO
HAPPENED AND WITHOUT A
DOUBT
00;40;56;48 RUSSELL YOUTH I AM
ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENT THAT OUR
RESPONSE TO A HIGH RISE FIRE IS
BETTER NOW THAN IT WAS BEFORE
41:02
HFD DID A FEW THINGS QUICKLY --
CALLING IMMEDIATELY FOR A
SPRINKLER RETROFIT LAW
DISPATCHING AN ADDITIONAL
ENGINE TO EVERY HIGH-RISE CALL
SINCE
AND PUTTING INTO PLACE NEW
ON-SCENE DECONTAMINATION
PROCEDURES DUE TO ASBESTOS
EXPOSURE AND IMPROPER STEPS THAT
ALWAYS INVESTIGATING WAS FIRST
TO REVEAL.
ALWAYS INVESTIGATING'S EXCLUSIVE
REVIEW OF MARCO POLO INCIDENT
LOGS EXPOSED RESPONSE-TIME AND
COMMUNICATION-GAP ISSUES THAT
THEY SINCE TRY TO HEAD OFF WITH
FASTER 2ND ALARM DEPLOYMENT,
AND THE
THE MOBILE COMMAND CENTER IS
NOW AT ANY INCIDENT COMMANDER'S
BECK AND CALL.
THE TRAINING PROGRAM TOOK MUCH
MORE TIME.
00;54;46;39 GINA: WHY DID IT
TAKE SO LONG TO GET THIS CREATED
00;54;48;37 CAPT. SCOTT
SEGUIRANT WELL THERE'S A LOT OF
THINGS THAT NEEDED TO BE PLANNED
OUT
AND THEN THE RESEARCH NEEDED TO
BE DONE AS FAR AS GOING OUT TO
DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, GOING TO
DIFFERENT TRAINING THEN BRINGING
EVERYTHING BACK THEN LOOKING
WHAT'S GOING TO WORK FOR US HERE
IN HONOLULU
00;56;59;05 GINA WHAT CAN
POLICYMAKERS AND THOSE WITH THE
PURSESTRINGS DO TO HELP YOU TURN
AND TRAINING PROGRAMS EVEN
QUICKER NEXT TIME THERE'S A
SITUATION AS BAD AS MARCO POLO?
00;57;10;59 UNFORTUNATELY MAKING
IMPROVEMENTS A LOT OF THE TIME
WILL COST MONEY.
00;57;20;33 OUR DEPARTMENT IS
ABOUT 1,000 FIREFIGHTERS AT 43
STATIONS
00;57;57;17 WHEN BUDGET
CONSTRAINTS ARE THERE, THE
THINGS THAT SUFFER ARE ACTUALLY
TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT, SO BY
THEIR SUPPORT ALLOWS US TO DO
THIS
WITH MOST CURRENT FIREFIGHTERS
NOW THROUGH THE NEW TRAINING,
H-F-D SAYS THEY
WILL HAVE TO COORDINATE ADDING
THE COURSE TO EVERY RECRUIT
CLASS, WHICH PASSES THROUGH
ABOUT TWICE A YEAR. THE
DEPARTMENT TELLS ME KAUAI AND
HAWAII ISLAND FIREFIGHTERS ARE
GOING
TO COME LEARN THE SYSTEM, TOO.
H-F-D MEANWHILE HAS SENT
PERSONNEL TO MAUI FOR
LIVE-FIRE TRAINING -- HFD DOES
NOT CURRENTLY HAVE LAND AND
SPACE FOR SUCH A SETTING HERE ON
OAHU YET.
GINA MANGIERI, KHON2 NEWS.
JOE: