KAILUA-KONA — Seven Hawaii Fire Department personnel will be honored Saturday as part of the 19th annual Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation Awards Dinner and Fundraiser. ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — Seven Hawaii Fire Department personnel will be honored Saturday as part
KAILUA-KONA — Seven Hawaii Fire Department personnel will be honored Saturday as part of the 19th annual Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation Awards Dinner and Fundraiser.
The seven participated in three different lifesaving events during the past year — bold rescues that meant those families would not have to grieve.
“Which I think is huge,” said Laura Mallery-Sayre.
She and her husband, Frank Sayre, began the foundation to thank the fire department personnel for risking their lives recovering the body of their son, Daniel, who fell 500 feet in a 1997 hiking accident in North Kohala’s Pololu Valley.
The foundation has had years of success raising funds and providing equipment to the department. But the mission is still not done. This year’s wish list is the most extensive yet, said Mallery-Sayre, with $81,000 on the list.
“Equipment wears out. There’s a lot of wear-and-tear,” she said.
New equipment, such as another water- and shatter-proof communication system for the water rescue teams, is needed. But refurbishing the rescue boat based in Kailua-Kona is the top priority.
“That boat goes out all the time,” Mallery-Sayre said.
The water- and shatter-proof communication system allows responders to talk with each other and shore-based teams while operating. It was used during the June 18 rescue of three people off Mahukona.
The water rescue teams were using vehicles purchased through the foundation, and caught the troubled group before they were lost in the Alenuihaha Channel between the Big Island and Maui.
“Before the Jet Ski program was started, every year or every couple years, a kayak would go missing with people never to be seen again,” lifeguard Robin Fasciano told West Hawaii Today after the rescue. “That kind of tragedy was pretty common. It’s a needle in a haystack kind of thing. If you lose sight of them, then the chances of finding them are real small.”
What’s additionally important this year is that the past year’s three rescues have “heavily involved equipment the community, through the Sayre Foundation, has bought,” Mallery-Sayre said.
This year, the Sayre Foundation also provided the equipment for a speaker system at Kahaluu Beach Park that allows lifeguards to communicate with the numerous snorkelers, surfers and swimmers at the site.
Beyond securing equipment for the department, the foundation also provides training as county costs have spiked because of multiple retirements leading to larger recruit classes, Mallery-Sayre said.
The Sept. 3 awards dinner and fundraiser is an opportunity to meet and honor Big Island firefighters.
“They are always rushing in when we are rushing out,” said Mallery-Sayre.
The event starts at 4:30 p.m. at the Fairmont Orchid with a silent auction. The dinner and awards begin at 6 p.m.
Single adult tickets cost $110 but prices range on a number of options. Registration is due by Thursday and can be completed at https://www.danielsayrefoundation.org.
