Hauula fire station
relocation opposedMore than 200 who have
signed a petition cite potential
noise and safety problems
A city proposal to move the Hauula fire station into the middle of a neighborhood has ignited a firestorm of opposition.
Residents don't want blaring sirens and flashing lights in the middle of the night. They also fear the large emergency vehicles will pose a hazard on the narrow roads.
"My kids walk to and from the graveyard, to school and to church," said Adeline Keama, who lives on Hanaimoa Street, fronting the proposed site. "It's a busy street with kids."
Opponents will present a petition bearing more than 200 signatures against the proposed fire station at a neighborhood board meeting tomorrow night.
The building would sit on a vacant lot at the corner of Hanaimoa Street and Hauula Homestead Road about 700 feet mauka of Kamehameha Highway.
"You get two small cars and you really have to go slow and hug the sides," said Marvin Iseke, who lives on Hauula Homestead Road. "If there's a car coming by, the firetruck's going out and they meet in the middle, the car has to back out."
Alvin Tomita, Assistant Honolulu fire chief, said the current fire station sits in a flood and tsunami inundation zone on the mauka side of Kamehameha Highway. Its concrete exterior is turning to dust, and the rebar is rusting, he said.
It is "too old and small to accommodate the living, working and equipment storage needs of a modern engine and tanker company," according to an environmental assessment.
The proposed 4.936-acre site is owned by the state, and the city hopes to receive the property free by way of an executive order.
The 5,600-square-foot, H-shaped building will cost an estimated $3.5 million to build.
While the draft environmental assessment stated that sirens will not be sounded during nighttime hours, Tomita said, "we're not going to order that and say that's protocol. To respond as an emergency vehicle, you need to have lights on and sirens."
Hauula Fire Station responds to an average of 30 alarms per month.
"I think there's some real problems with this site," said state Rep. Colleen Meyer (R-Laie-Heeia Kea). "One of the major problems ... is the problem for setting up a waste-water system."
A septic tank system must be built since the new station cannot be supported by the city sewer system. But health regulations forbid effluent from being disposed on site since it may contaminate a drinking well located within a 1,000-foot radius. The city has not as yet come up with a solution.
Dan Pollister, a resident of Hauula Homestead Road, said he believes many community and elected representatives besides Meyer have been trying to push the project through, and are not interested in hearing the objections.
"The community definitely feels the need to have a fire station. We just don't want it in that location," he said.
The public has until Thursday to submit comments on the plan.