First Family of FIRE

Debbi Akiona Eleneki’s dad was a firefighter, as are four brothers. But nobody, including herself, thought she’d make captain one day

Wednesday - March 31, 2005
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Eleneki says she never really thought about her father’s job when she was little, but she remembers her mother grumbling when he’d bring home his crew’s dirty clothes for her to wash.

She also remembers how her father taught her and her brothers to always respect the department and its members.

“He has this great respect for what the department has given to him and to our family,” says Eleneki. “It’s an extension of our family. My dad always made us realize how much a part of the department we are.

“So before I came into it, I already had the utmost respect for everyone. And after I entered HFD, it only magnified because I finally understood firsthand what my father meant. It was more than just words; I was experiencing what he had experienced.”

But still, it took a while for Eleneki to realize this was the career for her. Her brother Ka‘iu had always wanted to be a firefighter, and when he went in to apply, their father suggested she take the test too, just for practice.

“I actually wasn’t that interested in it,” Eleneki laughs now. Her plan was to take the test but then continue with her college education at the University of Hawaii.

What changed her mind to push ahead with the process was a father of one of her girlfriends who heard that Eleneki had taken the written test.

“One day he told me, ‘Ehhh! I heard you took the fireman’s test!’” she recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah.’ I was about to explain myself when he started laughing. He didn’t think I could do it.”

Eleneki got upset. She was then so determined to prove this man wrong that she started training hard for the upcoming agility exam. Once only a casual exerciser, Eleneki started weight training, swimming and running. She would put weights in a back pack and run up and down that very mountain her father worked rescue missions on for years.

Once Eleneki passed and became a recruit she realized this was what she wanted to do.

“Every day is a different day,” says Eleneki of why she loves being a firefighter. “The camaraderie is the best, too. I know it’s cliché, but it’s so true. And being able to save someone’s life … that’s just an amazing feeling. I can’t even describe it.”

Then there are the times that try your soul, says Eleneki.

“The Sacred Falls rock slide is always a big one for me,” she remembers. “I was stationed at Kahaluu at the time. It was my first Mother’s Day (as a mom). When I think about those people, I still get goose bumps. What goes through my mind are the emotions of the family and friends. What we saw as firefighters was pretty gruesome. Imagine what it was like for them.”

There’s also the calls that bring firefighters to the scene where the person in need reminds them of a loved one — a brother, a mother, a child. The association alone can stir up emotions in even the toughest firefighter.

While Eleneki says everyone remains focused on scene and doesn’t let emotion get in the way of their job, she’s the first to admit her years in the department haven’t given her a thick skin.

“No,” she laughs. “I still have a thin skin. I feel for the people. Sometimes I express it outwardly, sometimes I keep it to myself. But the crew talks when we get back from alarms and that helps. And my husband is always very supportive.”

Eleneki’s empathy is what her current captain at Olomana fire station, Robert Reynolds, says will help make her a good leader.

“You have to be able to communicate and she’s a real good communicator,” says Reynolds. “I can’t think of anyone who deserves this more. She’s paid more than her fair share of dues because her dad and brothers are firefighters, and also because she’s the first wahine firefighter.”

All new recruits must prove themselves worthy of the honor of wearing the uniform, and Eleneki, without realizing it, had a lot more to prove as HFD’s first female firefighter almost two decades ago.

“For me, I guess it wasn’t much of an adjustment,” she recalls. “Maybe being brought up with four brothers helps. But I think it was much more of an adjustment for the guys who were already in the department and had been for years. They had to adjust to me.”

Eleneki says she was young and naive, so her historical role as the one and only female firefighter wasn’t something she really fathomed, even when a TV crew showed up her first day of work at the Kaimuki fire station and sat outside in the parking lot the whole day waiting to follow the crew to an alarm.

“I’m glad now that I was so young I didn’t realize all that,” she says. “As I got older, that’s when I thought back and realized maybe there were some eyes on me.”

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