(02-22-2024, 01:03 AM)HereOnThePrimalEdge Wrote: It’s a sad situation, but the response time is about on par with other incidents down here.
Consider, it’s the middle of the night. HPP Fire is 3 miles away, they’ll arrive quickly, but they’re a fire department not an ocean rescue. Police will arrive from various locales around Puna.
No one is sitting in a chopper at Hilo airport ready to take off. A pilot has to be contacted, get dressed, drive to the airport…
And the chopper can’t see the ocean at night.
"Fire Chief Kazuo Todd said the county helicopter responded, but not until daylight.
“Our bird doesn’t go up until there’s light,” Todd said. He said the Fire Rescue boat was deployed, but it takes awhile for it to respond from Hilo."
I think the moral of the story, or maybe something the boyfriend doesn't understand, is that there aren't lifeguards on duty, or anybody else that can respond quickly to this type of emergency. Whether somebody gets lost in the ocean or on Mauna Kea, the system isn't setup for a rapid response, because people aren't expected to get lost in these areas, even though they do. It must have been doubly painful for him to be able to see her and know that there was nothing he could do. I feel bad for all involved, including the would-be-rescuers who work for a broken government.
It wouldn't be a heavy lift to get some firefighters or other rescue personnel licensed to fly drones capable of assisting to locate / illuminate people in rescue situations like this. There is probably grant money that would pay for the training and the drones.