Maui May Not Have Hawaii 5-0, But We’ve Got Rescue-10

Posted on December 5, 2012 at 2:27 PM by Kit Zulueta

By: Ryan Piros

These are the guys who pull lost hikers off the mountain, search for missing divers in the ocean or look for aggressive sharks from helicopters. And you never have to worry about them being too busy fighting fires to come get you because rescuing people is what they do.



“The most positive thing about having a primary rescue team is that they are alleviated from their firefighting duties as a whole, so they can concentrate on rescue, “said MFD Fire Chief Jeff Murray. “Our response time is a lot quicker with the utilization with our helicopter, jet skies, and boats.”

There are three primary rescue teams or company’s (“A” red team, “B” blue team & “C” green team), with about 5 rescue members per watch.   These firefighters train for all aspects of search and rescue, including: diving, swift water, mountain rescue, confined spaces and much more.

“These live training and drills ensure our safety and always are prepared when we go on these types of deployments or calls,” said Capt. Kapala Novikoff of MFD’s Company A.

There is sense of camaraderie among the men in these rescue teams but also a sense of competition, which helps drive them to be the best.  They enjoy what they do so much that many of them forego promotions because they want to remain a part of Rescue-10.



Soon, lifeguards will join rescue operations at the fire department. One of the Charter Amendments that passed in the recent elections was a proposed plan to move Ocean Safety from the Department of Parks and Recreation to MFD.  

“We already work well with Ocean Safety on incidents together,” said Chief Jeff Murray. “We are just working on a plan to add some training to Ocean Safety.”

The County of Maui congratulates MFD Rescue-10 for their dedication and commitment towards serving the community.