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Fire chief seeks recruits, apparatus and federal grants as vacancies rise
Summary
Honolulu Fire Department Chief Kalani Howe outlined FY27 budget needs including filling vacancies through an unfunded recruit pool, purchasing apparatus and radios, and applying for federal funding (roughly $19.9M request) for a twin‑engine helicopter and other items.
Chief Kalani Howe presented the Fire Department’s FY27 budget overview and priorities to the committee, highlighting staffing, equipment and preparedness needs. The chief said the department was reaccredited in Orlando and requested additional positions and funding to reduce vacancies and increase operational resilience.
Howe explained a proposed mechanism to create an unfunded recruit pool (20 unfunded positions and one funded firefighter‑III for dispatch) to allow flexibility in recruit class sizing given a wave of retirements; he said the department hires recruit classes twice a year and that it takes roughly 8½ months to train new recruits. The department reported uniform vacancies on a snapshot date, with active recruits in training and plans for further classes.
Capital and equipment needs included requests to replace aging apparatus (engines, aerial units and tankers), upgrade radio systems (a radio-shop increase and an approximate $1,000,000 outlay for new radios) and fund station hardening and generators. Chief Howe said that protective equipment and software upgrades were driving current expense increases.
Howe told the committee his office applied for about $19.9 million in congressional directed spending and other federal grants for items including a twin‑engine helicopter, an aviation fuel tender, a hoist simulator and generators; he said award decisions were expected in the fall.
On a proposed study or consolidation of fire and EMS functions, Howe said a workgroup is still meeting and reiterated his priority to preserve personnel safety and training; he noted concerns about shifting operational loads and maintaining training and readiness while responding to increased call volumes.
Council members asked about the recruit-pool approach and the frequency of retirements; Howe said recent annual retirements approach 40–50 and that the recruit-pool mechanism is intended to permit the department to hire more rapidly when multiple retirements occur. No formal decisions were taken; members asked for follow-up details on timelines and grant prospects.
