LIHU‘E — Four Kauai Fire Department (KFD) members were honored for their efforts during the rescue of a visitor in the water fronting Pono Kai in Kapa‘a.
Fire Captain Blair Yamashita, Firefighter III Christopher Simpson, Firefighter I Christian Marston and Firefighter I Matthew Mauricio of the Kapa‘a Fire Station were recognized by KFD Chief Michael Gibson and the Fire Commission.
The firefighters were honored during the Fire Commission’s meeting at Lihu‘e Civic Center on Tuesday.
“We are so grateful to our firefighters at the Kaua‘i Fire Station for their brave actions, which saved a young man’s life,” Gibson said.
“Their quick response, compassion and professionalism during this rescue personifies the aloha spirit and what we stand for at the Kaua‘i Fire Department.”
On March 5, crews with the Kapa‘a Fire Station saved the life of 26-year-old Jackson Utley of California after he was swept into the ocean off Kapa‘a.
According to a report of the incident, Utley vacationing with his grandparents, and following an intensive gym workout earlier in the day, he went for a swim, unaware of the strong ocean currents.
Utley and his parents have traveled to Hawai‘i on numerous occasions, and the young man considered himself “an above average swimmer,” having swam from Maui to Moloka‘i.
After swimming for some time, Jackson became exhausted. A bystander, who had lost a brother to a drowning several years ago, called 911.
Firefighters arrived on scene within three minutes of receiving the dispatch from 911 at 11:42 a.m. Utley was about 60 yards from shore and one of the Kapa‘a firefighters entered the water with a rescue tube and fins.
He was followed by another firefighter with a rescue board. The pair of firefighters reached Jackson just six minutes after getting the call. They were back on shore, 10 minutes later, or precisely at noon.
“It was also appreciated by the family that the Kapa‘a fire crew treated Jackson’s grandparents with the utmost care and compassion,” Gibson said. “The grandparents were extremely shaken up by the event, thinking that Jackson was not going to return to the shore safely.”
Utley’s parents sent a thank-you letter to the department and had a series of phone conversations on the parents’ appreciation for the KFD rescue efforts. In one of those conversations, Utley’s dad shared that while his son was being swept further out in the ocean, he was facing the reality that he may never return to the shore.
“Jackson had no idea that rescuers had been called, and they were in the water coming to save him,” Gibson said. “He expressed to his dad that as he was taking his last breath, one of the firefighters grabbed him and literally saved his life.”
Yamashita, in response to the honor by the Fire Commission, acknowledged Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami, the administration, Fire Commission, and Kaua‘i County Council for their support of the KFD.
“There is a saying that says in times of struggle, you don’t rise to the level of your expectations, you fall to the level of your training,” Yamashita said. “With the mayor’s and administration’s emphasis and support on training, along with the Fire Commission and the County Council, we will have more of these success stories. You cannot put a price on saving a live. Thank you to everyone.”
Commissioner Jen Chahanovich echoed those sentiments.
“I think you all know how I feel about first responders,” she said. “They are the key to everything we do on the island of Kaua‘i. Thank you so much. It really touches my heart that you helped the grandparents because I only have one son, and I can’t even imagine him being in those waters.”
