LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Deputy Fire Chief John Blalock welcomed six new additions to the family of Kaua‘i firefighters Friday at the 23rd fire recruit class graduation. The recruits — Jeremy Cole, Daryl Higashi, Ronald Hosaka, Joshua Peralta, Jason Poloa and
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Deputy Fire Chief John Blalock welcomed six new additions to the family of Kaua‘i firefighters Friday at the 23rd fire recruit class graduation.
The recruits — Jeremy Cole, Daryl Higashi, Ronald Hosaka, Joshua Peralta, Jason Poloa and Jace Schaefer Jr. — were joined by their family and friends for the ceremonial pinning of badges at the Lihu‘e Civic Center in the rotunda area of the Mo‘ikeha Building.
Attending the ceremony were Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., state Sen. Ron Kouchi and Kaua‘i County Councilman Tim Bynum.
Carvalho reminded the audience of the enormous contributions that firefighters provide to the quality of life.
“We don’t take our firefighters for granted because they provide rescue and life-saving medical treatment to people suffering from severe injury or illness,” he said. “We all need to be reminded that our firefighters risk their lives for us on a daily basis.”
Blalock said to graduate the recruits demonstrated that they met or exceeded KFD standards. The recruits work with Training Captain Tracy Cummings and Fire fighter III Kellen Ponce.
“We are proud of all of them for their accomplishments,” said Blalock.
The recruits come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences.
Jeremy Cole was born and raised in southern Michigan and moved to O‘ahu in 1988. He attended high school at Mid Pacific Institute and began his firefighting career with the Honolulu Fire Department in 2003.
Cole said his career was a rewarding and meaningful one. In October 2005, he married his long-time girlfriend Jodi. The two decided to relocate and transfer to KFD so his toddler son Tyler could grow up on Kaua‘i.
Daryl “DJ” Higashi was born and raised on Kaua‘i and graduated from Kaua‘i High School in 2004. He attended the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and graduated from Bethany University in Scotts Valley, Calif. He is the son of Lance and Janice Higashi and is married to Avian.
Ronald Hosaka was named after his late grandfather who was with the Honolulu Fire Department. He is proud to become the third generation of firefighters in his family.
Hosaka graduated in 2004 from Kaua‘i High School and earned his associates degree in fire science from Honolulu Community College. While attending college, Hosakaworked as a lifeguard at the Kane‘ohe Marine Corp Base.
Hosaka is the son of Fire Captain Neal Hosaka and Tracy Hosaka. He thanked his brother Bryce and girlfriend Leslie for all of their support.
Joshua Peralta was born and raised on the Westside of Kaua‘i and resides in Kekaha. He graduated in 1998 from Waimea High School and studied fire science at Honolulu Community College.
Peralta was employed at the PMRF Barking Sands Fire Department for six years before joining KFD. He is the son of retired Fire Captain Henry Peralta Jr. and Debbi Marcell, and added that it was his childhood dream to serve the community as a firefighter.
Jason Poloa, the son of Bill and Kandi Poloa, graduated high school in Calif. He moved to O‘ahu after completing a tour of active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps.
Poloa and his wife Kandice moved to Kaua‘i to raise their two year-old son Isaiah. He was employed at the PMRF BSFD for two years before joining KFD.
Jace Schaefer, Jr., was born and raised on Kaua‘i and graduated in 2001 from Waimea High School and is the son of Jace, Sr and Colene Schaefer. Prior to joining KFD, Schaefer was employed at both the State of Hawai‘i Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Department and PMRF.
Schaefer resides in Waimea and is married to Tanet. They have two children, 3-year-old Milana and 1-year-old Nash.
