CASE STUDY: EMERGENCY RESPONSE

INCIDENT: Wildfires in Maui

LOCATION: Maui

SERVICE:

• Emergency Response

SITUATION: 

In August 2023, a series of wildfires broke out in the U.S. state of Hawaii, predominantly on the island of Maui. The fires, which began on August 8, struck the resort town of Lahaina hardest, reducing most of the town to ash and ruins and killing over 100 people, with 3,000 people initially missing. The wildfires damaged or destroyed about 3,000 homes and businesses and caused an estimated $4 to $6 billion in damages.

RESPONSE:

Shortly after the fires broke out, Global Guardian contacted clients in the area, offering emergency response. For the 10 days that followed, the Global Guardian team worked with a client who had multiple employees and one storefront in the town of Lahaina to conduct welfare checks.

Immediately following the request, an agent arrived at the storefront, where roads were closed. EMS crews advised the agent that the wildfires had presumably destroyed any property in the area, which was reported back to the client and later confirmed. At the same time, the Global Guardian team was conducting welfare checks on the employees, bringing in supplies, and communicating real-time updates to the client. In total, Global Guardian ran welfare checks on seven employees, all confirmed safe. Four of the seven employees requested a resupply of food, water, and clothing, which the Global Guardian team successfully completed.

Thanks to the quick outreach and response by our 24/7 Operations Team, Global Guardian was able to check in on the client's storefront and confirm the safety of employees in the area, providing food and water resupplies.