Hawaii Department of Transportation blesses new firetruck at Kahului Airport

Posted on Jan 31, 2023 in Airports News, Main, News

Kahului – The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) has blessed a new firetruck for the Kahului Airport (OGG).

The name given to the truck is Kauakiaweopu‘uohala, which reflects the area where the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighters station sits. 8th grade Hawaiian language students from Kamehameha Schools Maui, along with their Kumu Kehani Guerrero, gifted the name. The students researched the area where the station sits to come up with the moniker. Kauakiawe is a high arching rain known to occur in the area.

Besides its Hawaiian name the truck is also adorned with the number 54. The vehicle cost $938,000, with close to 80% of that federally funded. The new truck combines with six other trucks to make up the ARFF fleet at OGG. The Oshkosh 4-by-4 rescue fire-fighting vehicle has a capacity of 1,500 gallons of water.

The blessing ceremony took place on January 26th.

Students, their Kumu, and Kahu Kanani Franco attended the blessing ceremony.

Courtesy HDOT

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