13 fire chief applicants face Hawaii County residency check before interviews

Hawaii County’s search for its next fire chief tightened in Hilo as 13 applicants were judged conditionally qualified, but none can be interviewed until the county verifies they have lived in Hawaii continuously for a year.

Human Resources Director Sommer Tokihiro told the Fire Commission during its May meeting in the County Council Chambers that 13 candidates advanced from a pool of 33 applicants. The other 20 did not meet the minimum qualifications and will be notified. Tokihiro said the county will send letters giving the 13 candidates seven days to produce documents that can prove residency, including a bank statement, utility bill, property tax record or rental agreement.

After that deadline, the Hawaii County Department of Human Resources will review whatever comes in and decide whether each applicant truly satisfies the one-year residency requirement. Those who do will be sent back to the commission for interview consideration. Those who do not will be ruled out, making the residency check a gatekeeper for one of the county’s most visible public-safety jobs.

The vacancy was formally posted in late February with a salary of $201,204 a year. County charter qualifications call for at least five years of fire-control experience, at least three years in a responsible administrative capacity, and education and experience substantially equivalent to a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. The county also required U.S. citizenship and one year of Hawaii residency, and the notice must be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in newspapers of general circulation in Hawaii.

The search carries added weight because the department has been operating under temporary leadership since Fire Chief Kazuo Todd died unexpectedly on the morning of Dec. 14, 2025, after suffering an aneurysm. Todd’s funeral service was held Jan. 10, 2026, and his public memorial service was held Jan. 11, 2026. Daniel Volpe, who has led the department temporarily and has served more than 20 years with the Hawaii Fire Department, said in February that he intended to apply for the permanent job.

Commissioners also voted 5-0 to create a permitted interaction group to write interview questions, with retired HFD Battalion Chief Gerald Kosaki set to chair the effort. The commission, a citizen oversight body that advises and supports the fire chief and reviews recommendations on appointment or removal, is scheduled to meet again June 25 at the West Hawaii Civic Center in Kailua-Kona.

The stakes are not abstract for an island department already under scrutiny. Volpe recently updated commissioners on a May 15 rollover involving a fire truck in Kau on Highway 11, where the driver was seriously injured but later released from the hospital. Volpe said the department believed the right front tire blew out, a reminder that the next chief will inherit not only staffing and leadership questions, but the day-to-day pressure of keeping response times, wildfire readiness and public confidence intact.