KAUMAKANI — A collaborative effort between the American Red Cross, Kaua‘i Chapter, the Kaua‘i Fire Department, community volunteers including Elton Ushio of the Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency and Gay and Robinson successfully launched the “Sound the Alarm” program in Kaumakani on Saturday.
KAUMAKANI — A collaborative effort between the American Red Cross, Kaua‘i Chapter, the Kaua‘i Fire Department, community volunteers including Elton Ushio of the Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency and Gay and Robinson successfully launched the “Sound the Alarm” program in Kaumakani on Saturday.
“I didn’t know how many alarms we were going to install,” said Padraic Gallagher of the Red Cross, Kaua‘i. “I just grabbed a number of boxes so I think we’ve got about 180 alarms that can be installed.”
The task facing the volunteers included the installation of new smoke detector alarms, reviewing fire safety information, including escape plans and communicating following a fire, and more recently, community evacuation plans.
The plans tie in closely with those being taught by the Kaua‘i Fire Department Prevention Bureau, making it a no-brainer that fire department personnel were involved in the sweep by teams that included fire discussion facilitators and alarm installers.
During the task briefing over breakfast from Unko’s in Hanapepe, the fire crews present excused themselves to respond to a call, but returned to join the team as the first groups departed from the Gay and Robsinson offices to the various parts of Kaumakani.
“This is just the start,” said Sherrti Wai‘ale‘ale, the Gay and Robinson housing coordinator. “We have about 60 homes selected for Saturday’s alarm installation. That’s just the perimeter of Kaumakani village. We have more than 200 houses that make up Kaumakani village, and we’re going to have to schedule additional days.”
Wai‘ale‘ale said Gay and Robsinson had already started work on a community evacuation plan when the new information based on the Maui wildfires came out, further reinforcing their decisions to create exits from the close knit community.
Wai‘ale‘ale’s value to the Sound the Alarm program further shined through with the knowledge of home’s footprints and where the most effective alarm placements would be, and how to work with materials with which the homes were built.
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