Hawai'i gets nearly $4 million to improve emergency readiness

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i will receive nearly $4 million in federal money for emergency response equipment and training as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday that Hawai'i will receive about $3.17 million to enhance its ability to respond to acts of terrorism involving biological or chemical agents or nuclear, radiological or explosive materials.

The money will be used to purchase equipment for law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services crews that first respond to acts involving weapons of mass destruction. The money can also be used to pay for training exercises, the Justice Department said.

State Department of Defense spokesman Charles Anthony said nearly all of the money will go to the counties to purchase protection, detection, decontamination and communications equipment.

About $1.3 million will go to Honolulu's city government, $600,000 to the other three counties and the remainder to state Civil Defense.

Under the Justice Department program, more than $315 million was provided to states that developed a long-term domestic preparedness strategic plan.

The Honolulu Fire Department was also awarded nearly $750,000 in a separate federal grant for what fire officials say are much-needed equipment upgrades and training following the Sept. 11 attacks.

The $749,315 grant to the Honolulu Fire Department from the Federal Management Agency and the United States Fire Administration will be used to upgrade the department's ground communication, purchase new breathing equipment and oxygen tanks, and enhance the department's physical fitness and wellness program, said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo.

The grant to the Honolulu Fire Department is the second-highest award from this year's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program for Fire Operations and Safety. The program was approved by Congress in 2000 to help enhance basic fire service delivery across the nation, but the money for the program was about to be cut before the Sept. 11 attacks, Soo said.

"We were very fortunate in getting this grant money, since many other fire departments across the nation have applied for it as well since Sept. 11," Soo said. About 19,000 fire departments applied for the grants, but only 5,000 will receive the money, which will total $360 million this year, he said.

Soo said that about $400,000 of the grant will be spent on updated radio microphones for firefighters to communicate with each other at an emergency scene.

"The new radio microphones will be situated inside a firefighter's face protection mask," Soo said. "Right now, firefighters at a fire use mikes that are located outside of their masks, which sometimes creates a muffled conversation."

Another $300,000 will be spent on new breathing equipment and oxygen tanks, Soo said.

Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.