Honolulu Emergency Medical Services broke ground on a new Kahuku station this week, replacing a cramped 900-square-foot ambulance facility along Kamehameha Highway that paramedics have used since 1997. The new building, which will measure more than 3,000 square feet, carries a price tag of nearly $5.3 million.
A traditional Hawaiian blessing and groundbreaking ceremony marked the occasion, as reported by Hawaii News Now. Kahu Brutus LaBenz led the blessing, and students from Kula Kaiapuni Hawaii o Kahuku Academy, located at Kahuku High School, performed an oli and mele for the gathered crowd. EMS Department Director Jim Ireland said the new building will support paramedics and EMTs who handle difficult incidents in the field.
The most immediate operational upgrade is space. The new facility will feature a tandem ambulance garage that replaces the existing single-stall setup, according to the same report, along with a kitchen, dedicated office space, two crew break rooms, two bathrooms, a shower, and a decontamination room. EMS officials say the added rooms will give personnel a safer, more functional work area than the original 1997 structure allowed.
A Long-Overdue Fix for a 30-Year-Old Building
Mayor Rick Blangiardi called the new Kahuku station an essential infrastructure investment for the community and first responders, per Hawaii News Now, adding that North Shore communities are especially vulnerable during natural disasters.
Honolulu City Council member Matt Weyer, who represents District 2, attended the groundbreaking and said the investment will improve community services, support first responders, and improve disaster preparedness, the station's report noted. Amethyst Builders LLC has been contracted to build the new facility. Demolition of the old station is scheduled for November 2026, with the entire project expected to be completed by December 2027.
Where Paramedics Will Work During Construction
While construction is underway, Kahuku EMS crews will operate out of the Honolulu Police Department's Kahuku Substation, according to the Honolulu Emergency Services Department. Crews will continue providing service to the North Shore throughout the build-out. Honolulu EMS planned to add its last two ambulances to 24-hour coverage beginning July 4, 2021, per EMS1.
The 2021 shift to full-time coverage followed a broader governance change. In 2021, the City and County of Honolulu assumed direct operational control of Emergency Medical Services from the State of Hawaii, according to the Office of the Mayor.
Part of a Wider North Shore Public Safety Push
The Kahuku groundbreaking is one piece of a larger public safety buildout planned for the region. During his 2025 State of the City Address, Mayor Blangiardi said Honolulu is seeking to purchase land near Shark's Cove in Pupukea to construct an integrated North Shore first responder hub combining lifeguards, EMS, and police, according to the Office of the Mayor.
Honolulu's EMS fleet has also been modernizing alongside the new construction. In May 2025, the department added 16 new or refurbished emergency vehicles island-wide, including four-wheel-drive ambulances expected to go to Kahuku and Waialua; four-wheel drive could help in muddy or sandy environments, according to Firehouse Magazine.
Kahuku Medical Center itself received a $6 million grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust in March 2026 to double its emergency room size to 4,000 square feet and add a Level-5 trauma bay, as Hoodline previously reported, making the new EMS station part of a wider expansion of emergency care capacity on the North Shore.
