The head of Maui’s Emergency Management Agency resigned citing “health reasons,” after facing backlash for failing to activate the island’s warning sirens during recent wildfires. Chief Herman Andaya resigned on Thursday, days after he defended his decision not to utilize the outdoor alert sirens during the wildfires that devastated the historic seaside community of Lahaina, killing roughly 111 people so far.
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“I do not” regret not sounding the sirens, Andaya told CBS at a news conference on Wednesday in his first public comments since the wildfires broke out.
“The public is trained to seek higher ground in the event that the sirens are sounded,” Andaya said, adding that the sirens are primarily used to warn of tsunamis, which is why “almost all of them are found on the coastline.”
NEW: Maui Emergency Management Agency chief Herman Andaya has resigned due to “health reasons” after he refused to play sirens to alert Maui residents of the fire.
He should be dragged away in handcuffs and thrown in jail instead.
Before resigning, Andaya made it clear that he… pic.twitter.com/2r9PYRaibC
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 18, 2023
He added: “Had we sounded the sirens that night, we were afraid that people would have gone mauka (mountainside)…and if that was the case then they would have gone into the fire,” he said.
According to The Daily Mail, the official has a history of downplaying the importance of the island’s siren systems. “To say that I’m not qualified I think is incorrect,” Andaya said at the news conference.
Local news site in Maui reported that Andaya had no background in disaster response before taking the position when he was chosen over 40 qualified applicants in 2017.
Maui County Mayor Richard T. Bissen said in a statement on Thursday that he accepted Andaya’s resignation. “Given the gravity of the crisis we are facing, my team and I will be placing someone in this key position as quickly as possible,” Mayor Bissen said.
County officials said the siren would have saved lives and that emergency response systems could have been taken offline by wind.
The Governor of Hawaii said he expects to rebuild the burned area of Maui, costing roughly $5 billion or more. Federal, state and local relief aid has been directed toward the island.
No further details on Andaya’s health reasons were shared.
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