The Hawaii Fire fighters Association says Kapolei is one of the busiest areas, but the truck hasn’t been used in East Kapolei.

So where’s the truck now and who’s getting to use it?

The firefighters union says it’s been reaching out to the Honolulu Fire Department for an answer for years.

“If a truck is not there, it does make a huge difference,” said Robert Lee, Hawaii Fire fighters Association president.

Across the street from the East Kapolei fire station is Ka Makana Alii. Lee says there was an alarm incident at the shopping center recently, but the only engine assigned to East Kapolei was out. A tower truck from Kapolei had to make its way over, delaying response time by a few minutes.

“Can those few minutes really make a difference?” KHON2 asked.

“Oh, absolutely,” he replied. “When you look at life and death, four to six minutes, if somebody stops breathing, you can incur brain damage and into death.”

On Thursday, we learned the ladder truck is being used by other fire stations around the island.

This truck, referred to as "HAZMAT 1" will be jointly staffed between both agencies and moved on a quarterly basis between the two agencies’ HAZMAT stations. HM 1 replaces the old HAZMAT van/truck that the team has used for 20 years and was well beyond its service life.

HAZMAT 1 is currently being housed at CAFMA Station 58 on Robert Road in Prescott Valley and will be rotated to PFD Station 75 on Highway 69 in January. These two stations are staffed with members of the Prescott Area Hazardous Materials Response Team, or "PAHMRT." PAHMRT is made up of members of both agencies that are certified Hazardous Materials Technicians. This is the primary HAZMAT response team for the Western half of Yavapai County.

It has taken two years to complete this joint effort between the two agencies and a committee was put together to see it through with members of both departments. This included work on detailed specifications and site visits in Phoenix to look at other HAZMAT units, to being custom built from the ground up at the factory in South Dakota, delivery to Prescott, and then some time to outfit the new vehicle with all of the equipment and onboard systems. This truck is a completely customized vehicle and unlike any other piece of apparatus either department has ever had. 

The new ambulance and crew are based at the Fletcher Fire and Rescue Main Station, thanks to the cooperation of the Fletcher Fire and Rescue Department.

Locating the new ambulance in Fletcher will help address overall EMS call volume and decrease response times to emergency calls.