HFD Reminds the Public to Stay Safe on NYE

2012 file HFD photo.

While most of us will be celebrating our New Year’s Eve night admiring bright colors exploding in the sky, drinking champagne or green bottles, and if you’re lucky, landing a midnight kiss, a handful of individuals will be spending their night a bit differently.

For members of the Hawai‘i Fire Department, New Year’s Eve can be their busiest and most stressful night of the year.

“I’ve worked throughout the night with barely to no sleep,” said Kyle Teves, a 30-year-old Fire Medical Specialist II stationed in Kailua-Kona.

It’s not unlikely that the fire department will receive calls ranging from structure and brush fires to motor vehicle accidents and multiple medical emergencies. The emphasis on the general health of the public and the fire department is key to a successful night.

“For us, the most important thing is that we all go to work and we all come home the next day safely,” said Teves. “For the public, we want everyone to be safe. We don’t like big structure fires from fireworks or brush fires from people throwing fireworks into the brush—it becomes a hazardous condition for everyone.”

While there truly is no way to police all illegal fireworks from skyrocketing into the night, Teves reminds us that they’re illegal for a reason.

“It’s extremely dangerous if they’re not properly used or properly made,” said Teves. “They have a lot more explosive material in them, and if one, say, explodes on the ground, [people] can get hurt or burned.”

So whether you’re lighting the fuse to a long line of red firecrackers, thinking of how 2017 will be your year or watching the ball drop on TV in Times Square, remember to use good judgment and stay safe while you’re having fun.