Honolulu Emergency Medical Services opens new Ko Olina Station to strengthen West O‘ahu emergency response

HONOLULU — The Honolulu Emergency Medical Services (EMS) celebrated the opening of its new Ko Olina ambulance station today with a traditional Hawaiian blessing, marking an important milestone in expanding emergency medical response capabilities for West Oʻahu’s growing population.

The new station expands EMS coverage for Ko Olina and surrounding communities, including Wai‘anae, Nānākuli, Makakilo and Kapolei. By adding another ambulance unit to the leeward coast, EMS is improving access to emergency medical services and better maintaining coverage when crews are transporting patients to hospitals outside the community.

“Before the Ko Olina station opened, two EMS units in Waiʻanae and Nānākuli covered the area from Kaʻena Point to Ko Olina, with support from Makakilo,” said Honolulu Emergency Services Department Director Jim Ireland. “The new station strengthens our emergency response and helps maintain ambulance coverage when ambulance transports can take units out of the area for hours.”

The station’s 12-hour ambulance unit officially began operations on October 4. Since then, crews responded to more than 150 emergency 911 calls and transported more than 60 patients to emergency departments for further treatment. Calls have included serious medical emergencies such as strokes, cardiac arrests, traumatic injuries and breathing difficulties.

To help address the community’s emergency medical needs ahead of the station’s opening, EMS deployed a Rapid Response unit staffed by a paramedic in a sport utility vehicle (SUV) at the Ko Olina location in December 2025. Over the last 10 months, the unit responded to 1,062 calls, providing additional emergency medical support and helping to alleviate call volume. With the opening of the Ko Olina ambulance station, the Rapid Response SUV will relocate to Makakilo to provide additional emergency response resources there.

“Once again, I commend Honolulu EMS for finding the space to operate out of and not waiting to build a new structure, when we know the need was immediate,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi, referring to the blessing of a new Kaimuki EMS station just last week. “This is an important step in ensuring our emergency medical response resources keep pace with the needs of our growing communities.”

Honolulu EMS plans to expand the Ko Olina ambulance unit’s operations to 24 hours a day when funding and staffing allows. The department is scheduled to graduate an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) academy next month, with the next EMT academy planned to begin next summer.

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