A volunteer firefighter was honored Saturday with the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation Meritorious Service Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Award.
Elizabeth “Lizzy” Stabo, a 10-year volunteer firefighter out of Na‘alehu, responded to a flare-up of a fire that had been burning underground for five months at Honu‘apo in Ka‘u on Sept. 3, 2021, her birthday.
After arriving at the scene, Stabo and Hawaii Fire Department Capt. Kaaina Keawe were pulling hose toward the flare-up when Stabo fell waist-deep into a burning hole near the flames.
“It was like a trapdoor I stepped on. There was no rhyme, no reason, nothing there to tell you there was a problem. As soon as I hit that spot, I went straight down. I was trapped. It was like quicksand,” she recalled after the ordeal. “I couldn’t move. I screamed. Thank God for the captain behind me. I was probably in there 40 seconds or so when he pulled me out.”
Keawe put Stabo on his back and carried her back to the road to an awaiting ambulance. She was quickly transported to Ka‘u Hospital and then flown to Honolulu for care at Straub Medical Center.
Stabo suffered third-degree burns from her knee down on her right leg, as well as to her buttocks, and second-degree burns on her left leg.
Still using a wheelchair and with a long road to recovery ahead of her, Stabo was honored Saturday at the Kona Palisades Pavilion Saturday with the Sayre Award along with special recognition proclamations from the Governor’s Office, state Legislature, Mayor’s Office and County Council. Fellow firefighters and friends also attended the special event.
“Thankfully, I am here not only to receive this dedication, but also to honor those who helped save my life and the special relationships that were brought into my life throughout my rehab in the last months,” said Stabo. “The journey to recovery has had its ups and downs, and this accomplishment is not something I was able to do alone.”
Volunteer Commander John Bertsch summed up Stabo’s dedication as a volunteer by relating the story of her at the August Mana Road fire, the largest in Big Island history.
“On Highway 190 about 11 in the morning we had very strong winds and a wall of flame came over the top of about four engine companies as we tried to stop the fire from jumping 190 and going down to Waikoloa Village. My team was there and Lizzy was sitting in another vehicle directly behind us. She was overcome with smoke inhalation. We evacuated the area. We couldn’t hold it. It was too ferocious,” he recalled.
Bertsch said because of the smoke inhalation, Stabo spent six hours in the emergency room that day.
“To me, when we talk about courage, and we talk about vigilance, we talk about volunteering and support. Thirty days prior to the Sept. 3 incident, Lizzy went to the hospital for volunteering as a firefighter. Yet 30 days later, she gets the call to support her community and puts on her uniform and goes right back into it again. We talk about courage. That’s courage.”
He said Stabo’s courage and valor is an example for all of the volunteer firefighters that do it for the love of community.
“Lizzy, you are an amazing person,” said Fire Chief Kazuo Todd. “You are always part of our department — no matter where you live, we will always cherish you.”
Stabo said her recovery has been rough both mentally and physically, but the support she has received from the community and HFD has been amazing.
“I hope that this recognition and my dedication to volunteer firefighters serve as an inspiration to others to join the department to protect and serve our communities,” said Stabo.
On Sunday, friend Gunner Mench reported nearly $2,400 had been raised via a Facebook fundraiser to support Stabo’s ongoing recovery.
The Daniel R. Sayre Foundation was founded 24 years ago by Dr. Frank Sayre and Laura Mallery-Sayre following the tragic death of their 25-year-old Daniel who fell while hiking in North Kohala. Fire crews worked 10 hours to recover him after the 500-foot fall.
The foundation’s primary mission is to help to save lives on the Big Island through the purchase of equipment and training that the Hawaii County budget can’t provide. To date, more than $10 million has been raised to support the department, as well as COVID-19 testing on the island. Tax-deductible donations can be made by at DanielSayreFoundation.org.
