Multiple agencies take part in simulated exercise on Kaua‘i

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Kaua‘i Fire Department and KFD Ocean Safety Bureau personnel are brought up to speed with developments during a multi-agency search and rescue exercise at Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor on Thursday.
Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Exercise observers watch from shore as Kaua‘i Fire Department personnel in the boat search for clues along the shoreline surrounding Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor during a multi-agency search and rescue exercise on Thursday.
Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

A Kaua‘i Police Department officer joins the Kaua‘i Search and Rescue team that uses one of its dogs to seek clues on the shoreline, while a Kaua‘i Fire Department Ocean Safety Bureau crew works with other Kaua‘i Fire Department rescue specialists to find clues in the water during a search and rescue exercise at Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor on Thursday.
Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

A Coast Guard 47-foot response vessel is met dockside by U.S. Coast Guard members and a U.S. Navy representative during a search and rescue exercise at Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor on Thursday.
Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

A Kaua‘i Fire Department Ocean Safety Bureau lifeguard uses a Jet Ski to transfer a simulated victim from the Coast Guard’s 47-foot response boat during a search and rescue exercise at Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor on Thursday.

KUKU‘IULA — Reports of a small boat overdue in arriving at Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor led the U.S. Coast Guard to respond, as part of a simulated exercise on Thursday that blossomed into a multi-agency response.

Working in gloomy, wet conditions from the morning rain, the Coast Guard said the scenario involved a boat containing four people leaving for a fishing trip. A friend of the boat’s owner called the Coast Guard after an individual failed to show up for work.

Investigation into the matter unveiled further developments leading to involvement of the Kaua‘i County’s first responders: Kaua‘i Police Department, Kaua‘i Fire Department, the Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency, the KFD Ocean Safety Bureau, Civil Air Patrol, and Kaua‘i Search and Rescue volunteers and search dogs.

The operation grew into a full-scale, multi-agency search and rescue exercise, in the area around Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor that saw one of the park’s pavilions being converted into a command center.

One of the Coast Guard observers commented on how this was a nice exercise to see the capabilities of the KSAR dogs and its team for ground search efforts.

New to the effort, the U.S. Navy offered its resources to bring the situation to conclusion amid the daily activities of commercial boating operators, visitors and residents wanting to use the facilities surrounding the Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor.

“The Coast Guard and other federal, state, county and local partners coordinate search and rescue exercises throughout the Hawaiian Islands, which are designed opportunities to practice interagency operations, communication procedures and overall coordination,” said Charles Turner, the command duty officer, Coast Guard Sector Honolulu, that coordinates all operations in which the local Coast Guard is involved.

Assets from Coast Guard Station Kaua‘i, including the 47-foot response boat, were utilized in bringing resolution to the report of an overdue boat.

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.

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