23 Maui Firefighter Recruits Graduate

34th Recruit Class, October 2018. PC: MFD

The Department of Fire & Public Safety celebrated the graduation of its 34th firefighter recruit class at a luncheon ceremony on Sept. 28, 2018, at the Café O’Lei Restaurant in the Dunes Maui Lani Clubhouse.

Twenty-three firefighters graduated from the Maui Fire Department’s 26-week recruit training program.

Twenty-one firefighters will join the ranks of the MFD and will be assigned to Maui County fire stations on Maui, Molokai and Lāna‘i: Justin Aubrey, Koa Bonnell, Jarron Boswell, Jordan Boswell, Jared Calvan, Carson Chihara, Nathan Fujimoto, Wangdu Hovey, Keoni Joyo, Nicholas Lawson, Marlon Lewis, Micah Mcdonald, Ryan Murakami, Kristian Nakamura, Christopher Pico, Dane Rogers, Kona Sarmiento, Carter Suzuki, John Van Scoy, Kai Warman, and Nathan Wood.

The MFD’s training program also includes firefighter recruits for the State of Hawai‘i, Department of Transportation Airports Division, and is designed to train and evaluate fire recruits on the many skills and disciplines necessary to serve the public as a firefighter.

MFD has partnered with the Airports Division since 2010, with the joint relationship taking advantage of cost saving measures which benefits both agencies.

The wo firefighters who will serve at State of Hawai‘i, Airport Rescue & Fire Fighting stations in Kahului and Lāna‘i are Keoki Nakoa and Tasha Pagdilao.

Recruits received their badges and pledged their oath in a much-anticipated graduation ceremony, during which, each recruit selected a special family member to carry out the traditional “Pinning of the Badge.” Maui Fire Chief David Thyne delivered the time-honored Firefighter’s Oath of Service.

Graduating recruits were presented with the following awards, recognizing those who finished at the top of their class in the following categories.

Academics Award: Dane Rogers Presented to the recruit with the highest scholastic average on all written course examinations administered throughout the training program.

Functional Skills Award: Ryan Murakami Presented to the recruit who demonstrated the highest competency in functional skills assessments throughout the training program.

Team Award: Carson Chihara & Tasha Pagdilao Presented to the two-man team who demonstrated the ability to perform complex hands-on drills under high-pressure situations, with the highest degree of expedience and efficiency.

Firefighter Spirit, Ho‘ūlu Award: Kona Sarmiento Named in honor of late Fire Captain Charles Iwata, this award honors the true passion and firefighter spirit that Captain Iwata was so widely known for. This award is presented to the recruit who displayed a high moral character and exceptional attitude, and whose conduct reflects respect and heart towards others, and to the firefighting profession.

Most Outstanding Overall: Marlon Lewis Selected by recruit training officers, this award is presented to the recruit that excelled in every phase of recruit training, and demonstrated outstanding leadership ability, projected an exceptional attitude, and led their class in physical fitness performance.