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Committee advances bill to limit liability for private vessels assisting firefighting at commercial harbors
Summary
The committee advanced HB 1158, which limits civil liability for private vessel owners who assist with firefighting at state commercial harbors; sponsors cited lessons learned after the Lahaina wildfires and DOT-Harbors asked for the protection to encourage cooperation with fire departments.
House Bill 1158 seeks to limit civil liability for private individuals who render firefighting services with firefighting-equipped vessels at state commercial harbors and roadsteads. The measure was framed by the Department of Transportation (Harbors) as a tool to make available privately owned vessels equipped for firefighting willing to assist public agencies.
Doree Khalili, Deputy Director for Harbors, said the bill was developed in the aftermath of the Lahaina fires and grew from a port tour where committee members and staff saw a tugboat with onboard firefighting equipment. Khalili explained that privately owned, home‑ported vessels sometimes hesitate to assist fire departments because of liability concerns: “When a situation arises where they’re asked to partner with a fire department in putting out a fire in a commercial port, sometimes there is some resistance and hesitation because of liability issue. And so we put forth this measure to try to reduce some of that liability and to ensure that we do have the availability of these tools that are already in our ports to help assist with a fire.”
Written testimony in support came from the Hawaii Harbors Users Group and individuals; no opposition testimony was recorded in the hearing. The committee recommended moving HB 1158 forward as drafted.
Ending: The committee advanced HB 1158 to the next stage with the intent of preserving private vessel cooperation with public firefighting efforts at commercial harbors.
