HILO — Six County Council members have dipped into contingency funds to help pay for an overhaul of the Fire Department’s primary West Hawaii rescue boat.
The $18,000 from the council members, combined with $20,000 raised by the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation, is enough to pay for boat repairs and refurbishment the Fire Department says is sorely needed.
Council members Dru Kanuha, of Kona; Karen Eoff, of North Kona; Maile David, of South Kona/Ka‘u; Valerie Poindexter, of Hamakua; Aaron Chung, of Hilo, and former Puna Councilman Daniel Paleka contributed to the cause.
“We are so very grateful to the council,” said Laura Mallery-Sayre, of the foundation.
“This is going to help save lives,” she added. “They use that boat all the time. It’s the primary rescue boat out there.”
The vessel is currently under repair at Riddle Boat Works in Kailua-Kona. It’s expected to be out of service for four to six months, with the Kailua station’s backup Boston Whaler standing in as the department’s only West Hawaii rescue vessel.
The biggest changes to the 24-foot Radon vessel will be construction of a cabin, new windshield, rewiring and creation of a side step so divers won’t have to dodge the prop when re-entering the boat from the stern, said Battalion Chief Gerald Kosak, who’s in charge of special operations.
“The main thing we’re going to do is put a cabin up front,” Kosak said. “The water splashes over the window and gets on all the electronic equipment on the dash.”
The force of the waves has been enough to even break the window a few times, said Kosak and Mallery-Sayre.
“They don’t have enough protection when they’re on rough seas, which is when they do their rescues,” she said. “It puts them in harm’s way.”
Mallery-Sayre and her husband, Frank Sayre, began the foundation to thank the fire department personnel for risking their lives recovering the body of their son, Daniel, who fell 500 feet in a 1997 hiking accident in North Kohala’s Pololu Valley.
The Sayre Foundation holds an annual fundraiser honoring firefighters where donors can bid in silent auction on items the Fire Department needs.
The boat refurbishment was the department’s highest priority this year, Mallery-Sayre said.