FAQ
Read frequently asked questions about the Honolulu Fire Department.
General
Please complete and submit the online request form.
Office of the Fire Chief
Honolulu Fire Department
636 South Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813-5007
Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Honolulu Fire Department Fire Explorers Program exposes 14 to 21 year old students to fire fighters’ duties. These experiences help to prepare applicants to be matured, responsible, caring young adults.
For more information, contact 808-478-8532, hfdexplorers@honolulu.gov, or read our brochure.
No. There are no volunteer fire fighters on Oahu.
Please visit the City and County of Honolulu, Department of Human Resources’ Job Opportunities page for step-by-step instructions on how to apply online and a list of available jobs.
Complete the online Job Interest Card to receive an e-mail notification for selected job categories. Select “Fire & EMS” for the Honolulu Fire Department fire fighter recruitment.
Fire Code
Per the Fire Code of the City and County of Honolulu:
“10.13.10.4 Clearance of Brush or Vegetative Growth from Structures.
Persons owning, leasing, controlling, operating, or maintaining buildings or structures in, upon, or adjoining hazardous fire areas and persons owning, leasing, or controlling land adjacent to such buildings or structures shall at all times:
- Maintain an effective firebreak by removing and clearing flammable vegetation and combustible growth from areas within 30 feet of such buildings or structures.
- EXCEPTION: Single specimens of trees, ornamental shrubbery, or similar plants used as ground covers, provided they do not form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from the native growth to any structure.
- Maintain additional fire protection or firebreak by removing brush, flammable vegetation, and combustible growth located from 30 to 100 feet from such buildings or structures when required by the AHJ because of hazardous conditions causing a firebreak of only 30 feet, which is insufficient to provide reasonable fire safety.
- EXCEPTION: Grass and other vegetation located more than 30 feet from buildings or structures and less than 18 inches in height above the ground need not be removed where necessary to stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.
- Remove portions of trees which extend within ten feet of a chimney’s outlet.
- Maintain trees adjacent to or overhanging a building free of deadwood.
- Maintain the structure’s roof free of leaves, needles, or other dead vegetative growth.”
Contact the Honolulu Board of Water Supply’s Dispatch Center at 808-748-5010.
To apply for an agricultural burn permit, contact:
Clean Air Branch
Environmental Management Division
Department of Health
State of Hawaii
P.O. Box 3378
Honolulu, Hawaii 96801
Reputable fire extinguisher agencies can be found in the phone book or online.
The required type of fire extinguisher varies. Call the Honolulu Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau at 808-723-7161 and ask to speak to a Fire Inspector.
Call the Honolulu Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau at 808-723-7161. A Fire Inspector will contact you to make the necessary arrangements.
Contact the Honolulu Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau at 808-723-7161 or call 9-1-1 for emergency services.
There is no language in the current fire code that requires a fire watch for an impaired kitchen hood fire suppression system.
A fire watch is required where a required fire alarm system, fire sprinkler system, or standpipe system is out of service for more than 4 hours in a 24-hour period. Submit a letter to the Office of the Fire Chief outlining a fire watch plan. Approval of this plan is required.
Fire Operations
The Honolulu Fire Department has an agreement with the City and County of Honolulu, Honolulu Emergency Services Department’s Emergency Medical Services Division to dispatch an apparatus to life-threatening calls, such as heart attacks, difficulty breathing, possible strokes, vehicle crashes, significant trauma, etc. The Honolulu Fire Department will dispatch its closest apparatus, which may be a rapid response vehicle, an engine, a ladder, or a rescue or hazardous materials company.
With fire stations located strategically throughout Oahu and ambulances often busy with other medical calls, Honolulu Fire Department apparatuses often arrive prior to ambulances; fire fighters then begin life-saving techniques. Since we are unable to predict when or where the next fire call will be, the Honolulu Fire Department believes it is prudent to dispatch a ladder company if it is equally close and available.
The Honolulu Fire Department treats every call for assistance as an emergency call and dispatches its apparatus as an emergency vehicle. The Honolulu Fire Department is required by the City and County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii traffic codes to use emergency warning devices while responding as an emergency vehicle. The use of lights and sirens allows fire fighters to respond safely, efficiently, and expeditiously to each emergency.
People who call for help expect a quick, professional, and effective response. Those not involved in the emergency might understandably be surprised, annoyed, and angry at the sound of sirens. The Honolulu Fire Department takes both perspectives into consideration and recognizes that the most important expectation is that we respond as safely and expeditiously as possible. The Honolulu Fire Department meets this expectation through professional call-taking and effective emergency vehicle response.
Access boxes are small, wall-mounted safes that secure keys to access points, such as a building or gated community. Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) personnel use a universal key to access the box, which enables entry for emergencies and minimizes forcible entry tools use.
The HFD prefers a Knox Box. Visit https://www.knoxbox.com/ for information.
- Property owners must use zip code 96813 when purchasing the product, as Oahu-based products are keyed similarly.
- An authorized signature is not required if the 96813 zip code is referenced.
- Property owners are responsible for the box installation. If requested, Honolulu Fire Department personnel may suggest a proper location for the box.
- Once installation is complete, the property owner must call the HFD’s Fire Operations division at 808-723-7113 to schedule the administrative area’s fire station to lock the box.
To schedule a station visit, call 808-723-7184.
Fire Safety
Call the Fire Communication Center at 808-723-3473.
Please complete and submit the online request form at least four weeks prior to your event. Should you have questions, please call our Community Relations/Education section at 808-723-7168.
Please complete and submit the online request form at least four weeks prior to your event. Should you have questions, please call our Community Relations/Education section at 808-723-7168.
Firecrackers
A firecracker permit and a valid identification is required to purchase and use firecrackers on Oahu.
Please visit the Honolulu Fire Department Firecracker E-Permit System to view the rules and regulations and submit your request. The paper permit application process was discontinued.
Contact the Honolulu Police Department for fireworks disposal.
The permit allows the use of firecrackers from:
- 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to 1 a.m. on New Year’s Day
- 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Chinese New Year’s Day
- 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Independence Day (Fourth of July)
Each firecracker permit authorizes the purchase of up to 5,000 individual firecrackers. The tau conversion chart below provides an approximation and can vary by manufacturer.
- 25,000 tau = 5,000 individual firecrackers
- 20,000 tau = 4,388 individual firecrackers
- 10,000 tau = 2,492 individual firecrackers
- 5,000 tau = 1,388 individual firecrackers
The cost for each firecracker permit is $25 plus a $.59 service fee. Multiple permits may be purchased at one time.
Firecrackers may be purchased no more than five calendar days before the applicable time period designated on the permit and up to one hour before the end of the designated firing time.
An application for a firecracker permit may be completed at any time; however, the permit application shall be submitted no less than ten days prior to the date of the use of the firecrackers.
Any person aged 18 or older with a valid photo identification may purchase a firecracker permit.
It is unlawful for any person to possess, use, explode, or cause to explode any aerial device, articles pyrotechnic, display fireworks, or any of the following on Oahu:
Snakes, sparklers, cylindrical or cone fountains, illuminating torches, bamboo cannons, whistles, toy smoke devices, wheels, ground spinners, novelty or trick items, combination items, paperless firecrackers, and other fireworks of like construction that are designed to produce the same or similar effects.
The use of firecrackers is prohibited without a permit.
Wildland Fires
Per the Fire Code of the City and County of Honolulu:
“10.13.10.4 Clearance of Brush or Vegetative Growth from Structures.
Persons owning, leasing, controlling, operating, or maintaining buildings or structures in, upon, or adjoining hazardous fire areas and persons owning, leasing, or controlling land adjacent to such buildings or structures shall at all times:
- Maintain an effective firebreak by removing and clearing flammable vegetation and combustible growth from areas within 30 feet of such buildings or structures.
- EXCEPTION: Single specimens of trees, ornamental shrubbery, or similar plants used as ground covers, provided they do not form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from the native growth to any structure.
- Maintain additional fire protection or firebreak by removing brush, flammable vegetation, and combustible growth located from 30 to 100 feet from such buildings or structures when required by the AHJ because of hazardous conditions causing a firebreak of only 30 feet, which is insufficient to provide reasonable fire safety.
- EXCEPTION: Grass and other vegetation located more than 30 feet from buildings or structures and less than 18 inches in height above the ground need not be removed where necessary to stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.
- Remove portions of trees which extend within ten feet of a chimney’s outlet.
- Maintain trees adjacent to or overhanging a building free of deadwood.
- Maintain the structure’s roof free of leaves, needles, or other dead vegetative growth.”
In collaboration with the HWMO, the HFD organized a series of informative webinars for large landowners. These webinar sessions cover topics, such as mitigation planning, best practices, lessons learned, and available resources, including mitigation grants and community wildfire protection plans. We are committed to fostering knowledge-sharing and facilitating access to essential resources for wildland fire prevention and management.
The HECO expressed a PSPS would be implemented as a last resort. However, upon learning of the PSPS plan, the City working group added the PSPS as a new component to our respective disaster preparedness plans. The HFD will continue to collaborate with our partners and stakeholders, including City departments, state and federal agencies, the HECO, and nongovernment entities, such as the HWMO. Together, we reviewed and analyzed various scenarios of readiness if and when a PSPS is implemented.
Please refer to the Hawaiian Electric’s (HECO) webpage at Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).
The HFD also increased the number of apparatuses dispatched to confirmed wildland fires and may augment staffing during Red Flag and High-Wind Warning days.
Per the National Weather Service: A High Wind Warning is issued when sustained winds exceeding 40 mph and/or frequent gusts over 60 mph are occurring or imminent.
A portable document format or PDF version of the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization’s (HWMO) “Ready, Set, Go!” Wildland Fire Action Guide may be found at HWMO-Your-Personal-Wildland-Fire-Protection-Guide.pdf (honolulu.gov).
