Fireman Days

For 25 years I worked for the Hawaii County Fire Department. I started as a new recruit in the Hilo fire station where I stayed for about a year before transferring to Honokaa. I worked at the Honokaa fire station for many years helping our shift put out fires and saving lives.

In 1967 I was appointed as the first full time fireman for the Waimea fire station which is located 20 minutes northwest of Honokaa. There was a big ceremony surrounding my appointment with the mayor (Shinichi Kimura) and the fire chief attending my the short ceremony.

During the years I spent in Waimea, I saw the town grow from a sleepy ranching outpost to the beginnings of its urban development. Through all of that it was my duty to protect the town, its citizens and the vast surrounding areas from the perils of fire, disasters and human errors. For the first 5 years I did this all by myself, as the county had no funds to hire additional personnel.

Fire fighting is a tough and serious job, often with lives and property at stake. Fire calls range from the routine to the spectacularly disasterous. Most calls usually involved putting out small house and rubbish fires or going to the Waimea dump and dousing the flames there. During the summer season, huge brush fires consuming thousands of acres of dry, arid land along the South Kohala and North Kona coasts consumed thousands acres, usually involving my fire company as well as others from surrounding areas. Those fires were always tough, dirty and dangerous. Still we got our job done and minimized the loss of life and property.

One of the more fun aspects of being a fireman (especially in Waimea) was reaching out to the community and teaching the children about fire safety. Since the old firehouse was located right next to Waimea Elementary and Intermediate Schools, I was visited by the children on a regular basis. Classes would come and visit the firehouse and after school, children would stop by to ask questions about fires. I always emphasized home safety and advised the children what to do in case of a fire.

Today those children have all grown up, and some still remember me as "Fireman Ching".

In 1976, after 25 years in the department, I retired at the rank of Captain. During the 8 years that I was in Waimea we saw the fire station grow from an 8-hour a day staff of one, to a 24 hour, full-time rotating crew of many. All in all, the years I spent at the fire house were tough, sometimes fun and certainly memorable. I certainly made a lot of friends and acquaintences through my service in the fire department.