The state Department of Transportation broke ground Tuesday on a new $18.8 million Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Facility (ARFF) at Hilo International Airport.
“We’re finally going to have a new castle — ARFF castle,” airport Fire Chief Nawai Chartrand said during the ceremony. “A beautiful home to be stationed at and to enjoy.”
The new ARFF station will provide parking for the larger sized ARFF vehicles, new training facilities and upgraded work spaces designed to improve the safety, efficiency and functionality of the Hilo airport’s operations, according to the DOT. It will replace the current facility, which does not meet Federal Aviation Administration requirements.
Construction is expected to be complete in June 2016. The current building then will be used for storage.
Ross Higashi, deputy director of DOT Airports, said the new station will give fire crews the best available facilities to maintain and improve response times, not only for aircraft incidents but for routine medical emergencies for hundreds of airport workers and the nearly 5,000 passengers who pass through Hilo International Airport daily.
The Hilo facility will be similar to the 24,000-square-foot, $19.3-million ARFF station constructed at Kona International Airport.
Among those who attended Tuesday’s groundbreaking were Gov. David Ige, DOT Director Ford Fuchigami and state Sen. Lorraine Inouye.
Ige said the 21,000-square-foot Hilo station will offer residents and visitors peace of mind, as well as ensure firefighters are properly trained and equipped so they can respond when the need arises.
“We do know that our airports are really the gateway to our communities,” he said. “It really is the gateway that drives our economy, and it’s so important that we make the investment in each facility.”
The facility is being built by Honolulu-based construction company Nan Inc.
Later Tuesday, Ige traveled to Kawaihae Harbor, where he joined other dignitaries to dedicate a $7 million Pier 2 improvement project.
The project includes increased cargo yard space, fire protection, drainage fixes, new energy-efficient lighting and photovoltaic systems.
Email Chris D’Angelo at cdangelo@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
