Jack Kaauwai Jr. hadn't heard a single firework this year until this past Saturday.
It’s rare to hear any fireworks in the Āliamanu neighborhood after the devastating New Year’s explosion that killed six people, including a 3-year-old, and injured more than two dozen others at 4144 Keaka Drive.
But as the one-year mark approaches some neighbors are on edge as the community is still healing from the tragedy.
HPR spoke to several neighbors — most declined to be interviewed — who say the neighborhood has been mostly quiet but are waiting to see when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Day.
“It’s in the back of people’s minds,” Kaauwai said.
Hawaiʻi has a longstanding tradition of popping off fireworks across neighborhoods on New Year’s Eve, while most of the U.S. celebrates with pyrotechnics on the Fourth of July. Much of Oʻahu looks like a war zone leading up to New Year’s Day.
With the passage of state laws this year that crack down on illegal fireworks, many are waiting to see how effective they are.
That night
The Salt Lake-Āliamanu area is a quiet, residential part of Oʻahu that also has a military presence with Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam nearby.
Kaauwai has been on Keaka Drive his entire life and lives down the street from the scene of the explosion.
The 54-year-old described the neighborhood as a close-knit community and home to mostly Hawaiian and Filipino “blue-collar workers.”
“Everybody is either related. Friends became family,” he said.
On the night of New Year’s Eve, the whole street was filled with children playing and house parties filled with family and friends.
Kaauwai said he is friends with the family who lives at 4144 Keaka Drive and they were exchanging food from each other's parties. He had dropped off chili pepper water and returned to his home 20 minutes before the explosion.
Seconds away from midnight, Kaauwai looked toward Foster Village as the sky slowly erupted into dazzling colors. When the clock struck midnight, he heard a sound that didn’t seem right.
“I heard a boom,” he said.
His neighbors came running down the street. One was bleeding from his neck and his neighbor ran back up to get the others.
Kaauwai called 911 and said authorities arrived immediately.
Honolulu police officials have said someone had lit a cake of aerial fireworks near the carport of the home. It had either tipped on its side of the table it was on, or fallen over, and shot into a crate of other fireworks in the garage.
The scene was gory and would be by far the deadliest fireworks accident in Hawaiʻi’s history.
Kaauwai said it’s a sight nobody should have to see.
“I’m not in the military, but that scene that night was like a casualty of war where everybody’s just lying all over,” he said. “It was a bad scene.”
Will the new laws work?
Lawmakers have passed laws this year that crack down on illegal fireworks. One law enforces fines against owning and lighting fireworks. Citations range from $300 to $2,000 depending on the type of fireworks. Citations become felonies if anyone gets hurt.
Another law allows law enforcement officers to use drone footage as evidence to crack down on people using illegal fireworks.
Kaauwai said the issue needs to be stopped at the ports.
He also said aerial fireworks didn’t become popular until the 1990s, adding that he remembered growing up playing with firecrackers.
According to local newspaper archives, fireworks have been a longstanding problem in the state. Before the law changed in 2000, Hawaiʻi allowed most forms of consumer fireworks like firecrackers. Now, people need a permit in order to buy certain fireworks.
Aerial fireworks have been illegal and only used by professionals in controlled settings such as Waikīkī.
Officials and Hawai‘i residents hope the recent passage of the laws will discourage people from purchasing or popping off fireworks.
David Yomes, who chairs the Āliamanu-Salt Lake-Foster Village-Airport Neighborhood Board, said while Āliamanu has been mostly quiet, he’s heard people setting off fireworks around July for three minutes at Āliamanu Neighborhood Park, which is about a two-minute walk away from Keaka Drive.
While Yomes has heard fewer fireworks this year, he doubts people will follow the law leading up to the new year.
“There’s always knuckleheads who have to defy the law, and I'm sure we'll see some aerial fireworks this year as well,” he said. “These are the people that law enforcement needs to make an example of. Hopefully they get caught this year.”
Police officials have arrested 12 people in connection with the Āliamanu explosion. All of them were released on bail, but no charges have been filed.
During a Monday news conference, Honolulu Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Scott Bell said that the family, friends and acquaintances of those who died or were injured have not cooperated with the investigation.
“Any fair-minded person would be willing to cooperate. But what we have seen is lack of cooperation, half-truths, misinformation, and complete information that's contradicted by reliable facts," he said.
The burn victims are still receiving treatment in Honolulu. Medical professionals have said that recovery could take months or years.
“Straub Benioff Medical Center continues to care for the survivors of the Āliamanu fireworks explosion, including those who returned from Arizona,” said Straub Benioff Medical Center COO Travis Clegg in a statement.
“Their treatment includes physical and occupational therapy, as well as additional burn-related procedures and surgeries at the Straub Benioff Burn Care Unit. We are committed to serving these patients in their recovery for as long as they need.”
Picking up the pieces
As the new year approaches, some Āliamanu residents are celebrating out of town.
Some people have moved away, but houses like the one across the street still have cracks on the walls and some visible damage that still have a lingering, painful reminder of that day.
While Kaauwai said the fireworks problems won’t fully go away, he wants people to celebrate safely.
“I’d rather be safe with my family and not have that in my conscience,” he said. “My whole thing is, be smart. Is it worth the risk? “
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