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Extinguishers
have shelf life
of about a year

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Question: I live alone and just found out that I have to worry about my fire extinguishers. I think they're out of date. I tried calling the fire department but the number to call is 911, and I don't think I should be calling that number. I just want to know if I have to get rid of the extinguishers I have now and get new ones.

Answer: If your extinguishers are several years old, they may not be any good. But don't call the Honolulu Fire Department to check them for you.

When fire officials inspect businesses to make sure they're up to fire codes, they generally will also look at fire extinguishers to see if they've been serviced within the past year, said Capt. Emmit Kane, spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department.

But the department does not do inspections of fire extinguishers owned by individuals for home use.

For businesses, extinguishers have to be inspected annually and that's generally done by private vendors, Kane said.

For private citizens, he suggested checking with firms listed in the telephone directory (look under "fire" in the yellow pages) if there are concerns.

"If (consumers) purchase (an extinguisher) from Home Depot or Ace Hardware or wherever for home use, generally speaking, they say they're good for maybe a year, and they should at least be evaluated by a private company," Kane said.

The bottom line: Fire extinguishers are "not good forever," he said.

Q: Signs at Ala Moana Park and Magic Island say it is illegal to feed the birds. However, there are bird feeders hanging in the trees at the Diamond Head end of the park along the makai side of the path, and people are openly refilling them. We've seen them around 4:30 to 5 p.m. Is this prohibition enforced? By whom?

A: City officials said they do not know of any bird feeders in Ala Moana Park.

"We are assuming that they are talking about actual feeding stations for birds," said Carol Costa, director of the city Department of Customer Services.

Despite your description of the location, she said if you can "pinpoint" the feeders, parks employees will remove them. Call 522-7070.

"When individuals are seen feeding, we do inform them of the prohibition," Costa said. "Most of them know, but continue to do it anyway. Our staff will also clean up if we find obvious bird food being spread."

Q: Who do I call to have a traffic light changed --- either the signal is too long or too short?

A: Call the city Department of Customer Services' complaint section at 523-4381.

They'll direct it to the appropriate agency, which, in this case, would be the Department of Transportation Services.

Mahalo

To the men and women of the Honolulu Police Department. I saw what happened at Acacia Road and Kamehameha Highway in Pearl City on Oct. 13 involving the stolen vehicle, and want to commend your professionalism and efforts to keep us, the public, safe. Auwe to the young man and his passenger, who must resort to stealing from others. Shame on you. I hope you get the maximum punishment. -- Grateful Citizen of Honolulu

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