Hawaii county fined over missteps in firefighter’s storm drain fatality

The state’s investigation revealed violations and a lack of safety protocols related to Firefighter Tre’ Evans-Dumaran’s death

April 19, 2023 12:55 PM

By Leila Merrill
FireRescue1

KIHEI, Hawaii — The County of Maui has agreed to pay a fine of $144,840 for violations related to the death of 24-year-old Firefighter Tre’ Evans-Dumaran, HawaiiNewsNow reported Wednesday.

The state’s investigation into the incident revealed missteps and highlighted the lack of safety protocols that resulted in Evans-Dumaran being sucked into a storm drain and swept out to sea in January.

714x629 HP Image In-article Photo (45).png — Maui Firefighter Tre’ Evans-Dumaran, 24, was swept into a storm drain on Jan. 27 while responding to flooding in Kihei. He died days later.

The Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division found Evans-Dumaran and other county personnel were instructed to remove a chain link fence to relieve flooding in the area when Evans-Dumaran fell into the Kulanihakoi storm drain channel. The only safeguard to prevent anyone from falling into the storm drain channel was the fence.

The HIOSH citation also states that the Maui Fire Department personnel who responded to the incident were not adequately trained in the dangers of flood incident response and that the supervisor was not adequately trained to recognize the hazards.

The County of Maui has accepted the HIOSH investigation findings and will pay the state fines associated with them.