Hawaiʻi County Fire Commission set to choose permanent chief next month from eight finalists

The Hawaiʻi County Fire Commission will choose the permanent chief from eight finalists who were the only candidates to meet the minimum qualifications that include state residency out of 33 applications.

The eight people will be notified about the next steps in the hiring process by the end of the week, said Summer Tokihiro, director of Human Resources for the county.

The volunteer commission will select a permanent chief to replace Kazuo Todd, who unexpectedly died on Dec. 14 at age 45, at the end of August.

Deputy Chief Daniel Volpe has been serving as interim chief since Dec. 18. During a commission meeting in February, Volpe confirmed his intention to go for the permanent chief position.

While the entire process to this point has been anonymous and handled by the county’s Department of Human Resources, the identities of the applicants who decide to proceed in the interview process will be revealed to the Fire Commission and the public within the next two weeks.

On Tuesday at the Fire Commission meeting, the commissioners voted on the final questions that will be asked in the written assessment and the oral interview.

They also finalized the selection process as they near the end of their search that began in February and has been in cooperation with the county’s Human Resources Department and Corporation Counsel. The position was posted in March.

According to the County Charter, the fire chief shall have had a minimum of five years of training and experience in fire control, including at least three years of experience in a responsible administrative capacity.

Additionally, the fire chief shall have a combination of education and experience substantially equivalent to possession of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

The job listing also required residency of one year in Hawaiʻi immediately proceeding the appointment. “The Chief shall train, equip, maintain and supervise a force of firefighting, water safety, and emergency services personnel,” the job listing said.

The salary for the fire chief is set by the Salary Commission, and is currently $201,204 per year.

Out of the initial 33 applications submitted, only 13 met the minimum qualifications. That number was honed down to eight after state residency was verified

“If all the applicants agree to continue the process, we will be interviewing all eight applicants with six questions during our next commission meeting,” Commission Chair Gerald Kosaki said. “We will notify them about the next steps and they will decide whether they want to continue pursuing the position.”

As part of the process, the applicants will take a written assessment that will be proctored by the Department of Human Resources and will include seven questions to be answered in handwriting. The answers and the full applications will then be submitted to the Fire Commission for review before and after the oral interviews.

Both the written assessment and oral interview will be rated by each commissioner on a scale from one to five points each, with 35 points possible from the written answers and 30 points possible from the oral answers.

The applicants also will be rated between one to five in regard to their demeanor and professionalism.

“I think the idea of having a proctored written assessment to this interview process is actually really cool,” said Micah Alameda, who is serving as the temporary commission secretary. “In a time where people can use AI or other technologies on their home computer, this is such a great way to understand these applicants in a way that can’t be faked.”

Although the final decisions about the process were made this week, the Hawaiʻi County Fire Commission decided to interview applicants next month to ensure there is no more delay in selecting the fire department’s next leader.

“It is ambitious, but something to strive for because our island needs a chief,” Alameda said during the meeting.

The fire chief oversees a department that includes 21 fire stations around the island.

The Department of Human Resources will oversee the applicants as they take the written assessment on Aug. 26. The oral interviews will take place during the next public Fire Commission on Aug. 27. Interviews will be done in a randomized order and will be limited to 30 minutes with five minutes allotted for each question. Public testimony will be heard throughout the day.

On Aug. 28, the Hawaiʻi County Fire Commission will have a special public meeting to hear any additional public testimony, discuss each commissioner’s scores of the applicants, deliberate over any disagreements or concerns, and make the final decision with a roll call vote.

Instructions for submitting written and oral testimony will be available online as part of the Fire Commission agenda on Aug. 20, which is a week prior to the meeting.

The Hawaiʻi County Fire Commission public meetings will begin at 9 a.m. on Aug. 27 and 28 at the West Hawaiʻi Civic Center in Kailua-Kona.