Description

I am writing on behalf of the Lahaina Canoe Club (LCC). Many members of the canoe club were greatly impacted by the devastating Lahaina fires on August 8th 2023.

The LCC is a family-oriented club with participants from ages 3-80. As the club is located on the westside of Maui, Hawaii, it is located in a medically low resource area. At any given time there could be between 50-300 people in the vicinity. There will be a large event in the end of summer which will host up to 1000+ people.

The closest hospital is approximately 40 mins-1hour 20 mins away, depending on traffic. There are only 2 medic stations on that side of the island. This means if the EMS team are already on a call on the westside, the EMS will respond from the other side of the island.

There have been at least 2 cardiac arrests which involved children over the past few years. A defibrillator was not in the immediate vicinity; thankfully there were bystanders who immediately initiated the emergency response and CPR. Next time, the outcome may not be positive due to the lack of an AED.