The new Haihai Fire Station construction project is more than halfway complete and is expected to be finished in early spring.
The new station will serve Panaewa makai to Waiakea Uka. The area currently is served by a Kawailani Street station.
Assistant Fire Chief Glen Honda said in an email that the new firehouse would better address call demands as well as the multiple services provided by the department.
“To meet the call demands and the multiple services provided to the community, fire stations are built to house multiple apparatus, provide space for increased personnel and include training and living facilities due to the 24/7 workforce,” he said.
The new station will house 15 personnel on three shifts.
Construction of the $10.6 million firehouse began in April and was intended to be complete by the end of the year.
There have been 10 rain days so far, according to a spokesman for the county Department of Public Works. The station is a county-funded project.
The station is more than half finished, with the main exterior walls and roof in place.
Interior and exterior finishes are yet to be completed.
In early November, a change order was issued eliminating the planned photovoltaic system from the project. The contractor listed the reason for the change as “HELCO grid space being filled to capacity.”
This summer, Hawaii Electric Light Co. reached capacity for its Consumer Grid Supply program, which allowed owners of PV systems to receive credit for supplying their excess energy to the grid.
With the program filled, consumers installing new PV systems must purchase a battery to store excess energy.
Honda said because battery technology is relatively new, it was not considered for the firehouse project.
However, he said, infrastructure was “factored in and embedded in this project, should the county decide to implement solar power in the future.”
The design change amounted to a savings of $263,622.46.
Kapolei-based contractor BCP Construction of Hawaii Inc. is completing the project
The last fire station to be built in Hilo was the Kaumana station, which was completed in the early 1970s.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
