Honolulu's new Kaimuki ambulance station is already running flat out, which is good for local response times but highlights how thin the island's ambulance service is stretched.

• The station at the top of Waialae Avenue opened a week ago and has already run over 200 calls.
• Before this, the nearest ambulances were in Makiki, much further away, so help should now arrive faster in Kaimuki.
• Staffing is the weak point — burnout plus a recent wave of COVID and flu forced several stations to close for a day, making other crews cover bigger areas.
• The other problem is broken-down ambulances: EMS has no mechanic of its own, and 17 of its 42 rigs were sitting in a city repair lot instead of being in service.
• Pay raises and new recruiting are meant to cut vacancies to 10 out of a 300-plus staff by January.

Outlook: Faster response in Kaimuki should hold as long as crews and working ambulances are available, but temporary station closures are likely to keep happening until staffing and repair backlogs ease.