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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Since Eleneki joined HFD, the department has adopted a “maternity” policy as part of its rules and regulations. The biggest adjustments for Eleneki when she started were dealing with turnouts (the yellow flame retardant uniforms) that were a bit too big for her, and learning how to time her bathroom stops to not interfere with her male colleagues.

“Over the years I’ve been given ‘occupied’ signs and cones,” she says, laughing about the bathroom situation.

Eleneki has been stationed at Olomana for two years now. Her promotion means she’ll be reassigned to a new station. While she’ll miss her current crew and the games of threeman ping pong they play every day, Eleneki is sure she’ll feel comfortable wherever she goes.

At every station she’s been assigned to — which includes Kaimuki, Waikiki, Manoa, Kalihi-Kai, Waianae, Nanakuli, Kahaluu and Olomana — Eleneki has never run into problems of any kind.

“When I hear some of the horror stories other women firefighters nationwide have endured, I’m so grateful for this department,” says Eleneki. “There are females out there who have had a lot of challenges. I’ve read stories about people doing really nasty stuff to these women. I used to wonder if I had to endure something like that if I’d still be here in HFD 18 years later. I’m very grateful to the department as a whole and to each individual member for being so supportive and accepting.”

HFD has taken steps to encourage female applicants over the last few years with the Can You Take the Heat program, which helps educate women about the profession. The last program in 2002 helped encourage a record 310 women to take the department’s written test. HFD plans to offer the program again this summer.

Hawaii is behind the curve when it comes to the number of females in fire service. Nationwide, there are over 6,200 women career firefighters with another 40,000 working as volunteer and part-time firefighters. There are women in every level of the organization, going as high up as the rank of chief.

So does Eleneki have plans to take it to the next level and become a battalion chief, or better yet, HFD’s fire chief?

“I’ve thought about it,” she admits.

But for now, she’s OK with the respect that comes with being called “Cap” by her crew.

HFD Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi notes that Eleneki has been a valuable asset to the department over the years. He’d like to see more women like her join the ranks of HFD in the future.

“Debbi is well-respected, and we think it’s time to take that next step and make her the first female captain,” he says. “We know she’ll do a great job.”

Eleneki’s colleague at Olomana, firefighter 1 Matt Meyer, agrees.

“I think a good captain should be a good leader,” he says. “I think they should lead by example, which Debbi does. She’s with us in everything we do. They also have to be fair and be able to make good decisions in stressful situations. Woman or man, it doesn’t matter. She’s more than qualified for this job.”

Kind words aside, Eleneki knows there’s a tough job to be done.

“My dad has this saying that he got from his father,” says Eleneki. “‘Life is a constant adjustment.’ That’s how this job is. An incident can change in an instant so you have to be able to adjust to those changes quickly. It’s the same thing with life in the firehouse. We work together 24 hours. We see each other probably more than we see our families, so we really have to be able to work as a team.”

Now is the time, she says, for her to step up and be a leader. “I enjoy this department so much, and in my eyes I’ve been successful at my job … I think a lot of it stems from what my dad said about respecting the department,” says Eleneki. “I want to pass on that same perspective to my crew. That alone can motivate people to strive to become better firefighters.”

In the tradition of the department, the role of captain has special significance.

HFD public information officer Capt. Kenison Tejada explains, “As a firefighter 2 and firefighter 3, when you go through a promotion it’s a step. But when you make captain — it’s like an arrival.”

There’s no doubt Eleneki has arrived. She’ll start her new job at a fire station in town next week — and keep taking things one step at a time.

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