Maui County: Firefighter who was swept into storm drain has died

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The 24-year-old Maui firefighter who was swept into a storm drain and out to sea during flooding rains last week has died, Maui County confirmed Saturday.

Tre Evans-Dumaran had been in the ICU at Maui Memorial Medical Center since the incident.

His mother, Chelsie Evans, thanked the community for their aloha Saturday afternoon.

“We want to thank the entire community for the outpouring of love during this time,” she said, in a statement issued by Maui County.

The statement continued:

“My heart tells me that Tre’ wants to say thank you for loving his family, his fire ‘ohana, his friends during this time. He’d want people to keep giving blood, to keep doing your part as a hero, in the way he lived every day on Earth.”

In a statement, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen offered his condolences to the family and said the community is “devastated” by the loss.

“My heart was broken by the news,” he said.

“Every day our emergency responders put their lives at risk to help others, looking out for the community they serve. This is a reminder of that risk and the courageous work they do for all of us.”

The county said Fire Chief Brad Ventura and other firefighters are with Evans-Dumaran’s family.

Ventura said in a statement that support for the firefighting community on Maui has been pouring in from the around the islands and the globe.

“We’ve all felt the depth of aloha and it makes all the difference,” he said.

“Tre loved being a firefighter and he loved those he worked with. Serving the community came naturally to him because he was so happy to serve people.”

Evans-Dumaran was sucked into a storm drain at Waiapo Street and then carried by storm waters approximately 800 yards to where the drain emptied into the ocean.

A GoFundMe has been established to help the family with expenses.

The family requests privacy in this difficult time.