Live Like Treʻ Foundation honors Ho‘omau Fire Academy cadets

This month, the Live Like Treʻ Foundation — founded in memory the late Maui firefighter Treʻ Evans-Dumaran partnered with Ho‘omau Fire Academy to honor cadets on Maui.

The foundation presented awards for courage, resilience and heart — values Evans-Dumaran embodied — and his mother, Chelsie Evans-Enos, spoke to cadets about the need for cultural change in Hawai‘i’s fire service, including lessons from Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers on the life-saving power of speaking up in hierarchical systems.

The foundation presented three cadets with awards reflecting the values Treʻ embodied: courage,resilience and heart.

• The Backbone Award – Cadet Kauanoe Keahi, for demonstrating the kind of steadfast
  reliability and strength that every team needs in high-pressure environments. This award
  also represents the deeper call to ensure that reliability within the fire service includes not just physical endurance, but a culture of accountability and safety that protects everyone.
• The Courage to Speak Award – Cadet Milo Maloney, for showing the kind of leadership
  that prioritizes honesty, clarity and responsibility. Inspired by lessons from Malcolm
  Gladwell’s Outliers, which highlights the life-saving power of speaking up in hierarchical
  systems. This award emphasizes that true courage in firefighting includes using one’s voice when it matters most.
• The Heart of the Team Award – Cadet Tanycia Hokulani Kawaahau-Puaʻa, for bringing
  compassion, unity, and encouragement to every team interaction.

Beyond the academy, the foundation has distributed more than $150,000 to firefighters who lost their homes in the Maui wildfires and continues to advocate for systemic reform to protect Hawai‘i’s first responders.

Evans-Dumaran, 24, who had been a Maui firefighter for more than three years, was swept into a storm drain on Jan. 27, 2023, when responding to flooding in Kīhei. He was retrieved 800 yards away where the storm drain ended near the shoreline at Kūlanihākoʻi Street.

Relatives and friends established the Live Like Tre’ Foundation in his honor. The foundation is dedicated to small acts of kindness, love and the spirit of giving, embodying the essence of Tre’s life mission, creating ripples of positive change across numerous lives.