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A Maui firefighter from Mass. lost his home and belongings while fighting the wildfires there
Last week's wildfires on Maui were the deadliest in the last century. Aaron Griffith is one of the first responders working around the clock to find survivors.
Aaron Griffith, a Massachusetts-born firefighter living in the town of Lahaina, Maui, is one of thousands who lost his home and belongings in last week’s devastating wildfires. As Griffith and other first responders continue their around-the-clock search and rescue efforts, his family back home is now raising money to help him rebuild as he and the entire island of Maui begin to take stock of the incalculable losses wrought by the fires.
Last week’s blaze spread through Lahaina at a rate of one mile per minute, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green reported on Monday, leveling homes and historic sites and blocking escape routes. The death toll is expected to rise, but the 96 deaths confirmed as of Monday afternoon already make this fire the deadliest in the last century.
Griffith is one of the first responders who sprang into action to contain the fires and get people to safety.
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“On 8/9/23, my brother Aaron left home in Lahaina, Maui, for firefighting duty with only the clothes on his back and his firefighting equipment,” wrote Sarah Griffith, Aaron’s sister, on a GoFundMe page she created on his behalf. “Unfortunately, Aaron also lost his home and all his belongings while working tirelessly (& quite literally) carrying others to safety—a true hero.”
Luke Mandly grew up with Griffith in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The two played sports together as kids and have remained friends as adults, even since Griffith moved to Lahaina more than a decade ago. Mandly said Griffith has always been a helper.
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“He’s always just been someone that everyone can count on to always be there,” Mandly said. “And he’s always more concerned with other people than generally himself.”
Griffith isn’t the only Lahaina firefighter who doesn’t have a home to come back to after working nonstop over the past several days.
“He’s got a lot of his firefighter brothers, you know, everyone lost their home,” Mandly said. “A lot of these guys have families and they’re really in a tough position where they don’t really have anywhere to turn right now.”
The pace of Griffith and his colleagues’ rescue efforts hasn’t slowed since the wildfires broke out last Tuesday, Mandly said on Monday. They are working 24 hours on, 12 hours off searching for survivors.
“We should all feel very proud of Aaron,” Griffith’s father wrote on his GoFundMe page. “He carried elderly, women, children, and babies through streets, buildings, and hallways to safety while surrounded by flames and exploding cars … He carried a baby thrust into his arms by a woman, sheltering it from the heat, smoke, and flames; he saved them all.”
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