Firefighters at Wailupe seek safer access to road
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
WAILUPE — Every time the alarm sounds, firefighters at Station 23 lose precious minutes trying to get across at least three lanes of traffic on busy Kalaniana'ole Highway.
On one recent call, the fire engine sat with lights flashing and sirens blaring while at least 50 cars passed.
Of the Honolulu Fire Department's 42 stations, Wailupe is the only one where fire trucks have such a hard time getting out of the station, said Assistant Fire Chief Alvin Tomita.
"This is one of the busiest highways in town and probably one of the most difficult stations to access," said Wailupe Fire Capt. Ben Suiso.
"The problem here at Wailupe is we don't have a 50-foot driveway" like most other stations, Tomita said. "The forefathers couldn't have predicted that this road would be widened to six lanes and Hawai'i Kai would grow so. No other station is as critical as Wailupe. This station is our No. 1 concern in terms of ingress and egress."
Safety measures taken in the past five years have proved ineffectual, firefighters say. They want a rumble strip, signs and a warning system over the highway in a more visible location, and will present their proposals to city officials this week.
The Wailupe station was built in 1948, before anyone envisioned a suburban community of 20,000 people and a six-lane highway.
Today, more than 75,000 cars travel along Kalaniana'ole Highway daily between 'Ainakoa Avenue and West Hind Drive, according to the state Department of Transportation.
With each road widening, firefighters sacrificed more of their margin of safety.
Other stations have enough driveway for a 28-foot fire engine to move out of the station and be seen by motorists before entering the road. That's not the case at Wailupe, where the fire engine must creep out, the crew trying to see past a blind curve and contend with traffic, joggers, cyclists and pedestrians. In the mornings, there is the additional hazard of a westbound contraflow lane.
In the past five years, the fire department has installed measures including electronic doors that can be closed while the truck is moving, a system that turns stoplights red, and a warning light and siren over the highway.
But the switch that turns the traffic signal at Wailupe Circle intersection to red works only when the fire engine is moving, with its emergency brake released, not inching out the door. The warning system over the westbound lanes of Kalaniana'ole Highway was removed a few years ago when residents complained about the noise, said Capt. Kevin Browne. The warning light and siren over the eastbound lanes hasn't worked since the beginning of the year. Firefighters say they have submitted a repair request to the city.
"There's a simple solution," Suiso said. "The city or state could install a rumble strip before the station in each direction and put up signs alerting motorists to the fact that there are emergency vehicles here.
"When we leave the station, we can't see all three lanes of traffic until we're blocking the first lane," Suiso said. "We need a public awareness and education campaign to be courteous to emergency vehicles."
Optimally, the fire department would have a system similar to the one at Olomana fire station, which warns approaching motorists with a strobe light and siren slung on wires over Kalaniana'ole Highway in both directions, Tomita said.
Olomana Fire Station Capt. Fred Mattson said the system does a good job warning motorists.
"We have a long enough apron here that we can pull the whole fire engine out and close the doors before we even get out onto the highway," Mattson noted.
Safety at the Wailupe station has been a topic of discussion among firefighters for years, Tomita said, and the station has made previous requests to the city for safety measures.
City spokeswoman Carol Costa said the city had responded to concerns and would continue to work with firefighters on repairs.
