Maui emergency management defends not blasting sirens as wildfires tore through community
Thomas Stevenson
“Had we sounded the siren that night, we’re afraid that people would have gotten mauka [toward the mountains] and if that was the case, then they would have gone into the fire.”
The official in charge of Maui Emergency Management Agency said on Wednesday that he does not regret leaving emergency sirens off as he believes they would not have helped to save people from the blaze.
Chief Herman Andaya defended his decision after questions came from a reporter that said several families thought their neighbors and relatives could have been saved had the sirens went off.
Andaya told the reporters that because people are used to tsunamis on the island, the siren would have caused them to flee to higher ground where the blaze was raging in the mountains.
“Had we sounded the siren that night, we’re afraid that people would have gotten mauka [toward the mountains] and if that was the case, then they would have gone into the fire,” Andaya said.
The reporter also pointed out that Andaya did not have any emergency crisis management experience prior to taking on the role in 2017.