HILO — The Makalei Fire Station is sporting a temporary sign honoring the memory of Daniel R. Sayre, who lost his life while hiking along Pololu Valley in 1997. The Hawaii County Council on Wednesday will sign a resolution making that sign more permanent.
Resolution 643 renames the Makalei Fire Station the “Makalei Fire Station and Daniel R. Sayre West Hawaii Training Center.” It’s scheduled to be approved at the council meeting starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the West Hawaii Civic Center.
Sayre’s parents, Frank Sayre and Laura Mallery-Sayre, created a memorial fund honoring the Hawaii Fire Department to show their gratitude to three firefighters who risked their lives to rescue their 25-year-old son from the 500-foot valley floor. The Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation has so far raised more than $1 million to purchase rescue equipment and provide lifesaving training for the Fire Department.
“We’re humbled. … We’re extremely honored that they’re doing this. … When you lose a child, it’s really hard, and now his memory will live on,” Mallery-Sayre said Monday. “To have something in his memory that’s so permanent — it’s very meaningful for us.”
The 11,000-square-foot Makalei Fire Station includes a hose tower that doubles as a training facility for simulating cliff rescues, such as rappelling down the side of a building or cliff, and for building fires. The station also has a modern classroom for future firefighters to learn the art of fire science.
“This one is really special,” Kona Councilwoman Karen Eoff, who sponsored the resolution, said Monday.
Mallery-Sayre and Eoff praised Mayor Billy Kenoi and Fire Chief Darren Rosario for moving the project forward. She said Kenoi announced the plan at the 2015 Sayre Foundation dinner, and the administration was able to construct a stone wall and create a temporary sign in time to announce it at the most recent dinner on Sept. 3.
The foundation has raised money and provided equipment to the department for years. But the mission is still not done.
This year, the foundation is raising money to refurbish the Kailua-Kona-based rescue boat. Also on the wish list is another water- and shatter-proof communication system for the water rescue teams.
The Sayre Foundation also provided the equipment for a speaker system at Kahaluu Beach Park that allows lifeguards to communicate with the numerous snorkelers, surfers and swimmers at the site.
Beyond securing equipment for the department, the foundation also provides training as county costs have spiked because of multiple retirements leading to larger recruit classes. And it annually recognizes Fire Department standouts.
While the rescuers say they aren’t out for accolades, the community has a responsibility to recognize its heroes, Mallery-Sayre said at the Sept. 3 dinner.
“We all need to be recognized for our efforts when we’ve done our jobs well,” she said.
And that includes the Sayres, said Eoff.
“I’m truly grateful that it’s being done,” Eoff said of the renaming. “It says thank you to Frank and Laura Sayre. … Out of that tragedy, comes a lot of positives.”