Honolulu Ocean Safety made history Thursday with a blessing ceremony for a groundbreaking $2.5 million project: the first facility tailored for lifeguard services in its 107-year history.
The 10,000-square-foot lot in Lanikai will host a single- story center for lifeguard equipment storage and Ocean Safety operations, serving as a Windward hub from Mokapu Peninsula to Waimanalo Bay.
James Howe, former Honolulu Emergency Services director and retired Honolulu Ocean Safety chief, said that approximately 13 years ago the Kailua community approached the state Department of Parks and Recreation regarding ocean safety concerns including drowning, injuries and fatalities surrounding Popoia Island — also known as Flat Island — and Mokulua Island.
DPS then contacted the Honolulu Ocean Safety Services, where the team began to study what should be done to address the concerns, Howe said.
“There was a camera out on those islands monitoring the activity out there for almost two years,” Howe said. “And we learned a lot.”
Retired Honolulu Ocean Safety Lt. Tony Ho told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he’s been planning and hoping for this project for a long time.
Ho has been working on the project since 2018, reviewing all possible blueprints for the facility to ensure efficiency.
“We went through about 15 different designs on these things, and what it was supposed to do and how it was supposed to make everything work,” Ho said during the news conference.
Aka Tamashiro, who has been a Honolulu Ocean Safety lieutenant for 18 years, called this project a “huge” improvement from where the team started.
Tamashiro said the new facility will serve not only as a lifeguard hub, but also as a potential storage site for specific equipment needed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Ocean Safety team for approximately six years had been operating out of a small closet located between two restrooms near Buzz’s Original Steak House across from Kailua Beach.
Tamashiro recalled that working in that space was challenging, especially with leaking pipes as a recurring problem. There were instances when the team encountered sewage water containing fecal matter upon exiting their workspace.
“It was a real small room, it was like 5 by 12 feet, and you just hear toilets flushing all day,” Dylan Gleed, rescue operator, told the Star-Advertiser. “More recently, we acquired this property up here on the side of the hill, and they decided that they’re going to give us containers in the meantime.”
Currently, the team stores its equipment, including a jet ski, in the green containers by the Kailua Beach parking lot by Aala Road.
“Running out of the container, we don’t have any running water or electricity. We’re running off of solar-powered batteries,” Gleed said. “It’s really limited space. So we have to basically run our units with the bare minimum.”
Additional equipment is stored at Kalama Beach Park, but transporting it to locations farther down the road to Kailua Beach Park and beyond is time- consuming.
Gleed and Tamashiro both said the current substandard storage arrangements result in trucks and jet skis being frequently vandalized or involved in accidental collisions with other vehicles.
Gleed, with eight years of experience as a rescue operator and since 2012 as a lifeguard, said a dedicated facility — which is strategically positioned to launch jet skis with a boat ramp directly across — for his team would significantly improve their ability to assist the public who are in need.
“It’s nice to finally have a facility where we can keep everything safe and properly maintain all our equipment,” Gleed said.
Kahu Dennis Sallas, retired Honolulu Ocean Safety lifeguard with 30 years of service on the Windward side of the island, blessed the lot of land.
Construction is expected to begin on Monday, with work scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and completion and opening anticipated by summer 2025. During the initial week a temporary construction fence will be installed to manage dust emissions.
The facility itself will be 800 square feet and consist of two office rooms, a bathroom, a kitchenette, a board storage room and two roll-up garages for trucks and jet skis to be stored.
“It’s a historical week with the establishment of the Department of Ocean Safety yesterday, the signing of a resolution to put on the ballot whether or not voters would like to have a commission on ocean safety,” Council member Esther Kia‘aina said. “And of course, in the next couple of months, we will be having a lifeguard stand with a team at Kalama Beach Park.”
“I’d like to see further facilities on the North Shore and the Waianae Coast and other areas on Oahu provide for the safety of all of our citizens and visitors.”
