(Honolulu CC students and faculty appreciate the donation from the Honolulu Fire Department)
By Staff Reports
(Oahu)– Two big donations from the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) are creating hands-on learning opportunities for future firefighters at Honolulu Community College and Hawai‘i Community College.
Students in Honolulu Community College’s Fire and Environmental Emergency Response program received a retired fire truck from HFD in a ceremony this morning. The donation included firefighting equipment, such as a 10-foot ladder, multiple nozzles, adapters, lights, a tool for forcible entry and chain saws.
Honolulu CC’s fire truck will be used by fire science students to practice deploying hose lines for water supply and fire attacks. The truck will also transport student firefighters and their equipment for search and rescue operations. Students will learn to extinguish fires, carry and raise ladders to second stories and haul up tools and equipment using ropes and knots.
Fire science is one of Honolulu CC’s most popular majors, with 187 students last year. The program averages roughly 200 students a year.
Honolulu Fire Department Chief Manuel Neves told the students that he received his fire science degree from Honolulu CC in 1984. Neves said, “So you can see where this program can lead to a position as a fire chief of the Honolulu Fire Department, the 16th largest fire department in the country. So possibly in this group that we see here, the next fire chief or the future fire chief may be standing with their hands at ease right now.”
HFD also donated a surplus fire engine and equipment to Hawai‘i Community College on the Big Island. Interim Chancellor Joni Onishi thanked Young Brothers for shipping the fire engine there for free. Fire science has also become one of the most popular programs at Hawai‘i CC, with 102 current majors.