Ground Zero veteran among three NYPD cops on the ground in Maui: ‘People came to help us … now we’re coming out to help them’
Three NYPD cops — including one who searched Ground Zero after 9/11 — are aiding recovery efforts in the wake of the apocalyptic Maui wildfires, vowing to stay “as long as we need” to put the devastated community back on its feet.
“A lot of people [are] missing and a lot of people burned out of their homes. It’s a sad and devastating thing,” Sgt. Michael Kenny, on special assignment with the NYPD, told The Post on the largely decimated island.
“People came to help us [after 9/11] in our city and now we’re coming out to help them,” said the 40-year veteran, who is also a FEMA task force leader.
Kenny, who is based in the Bronx as part of Special Operations (ESU) Truck 3, said his mission in Maui is motivated in part by his experience sifting through the remains of the World Trade Center after Sept. 11, 2001.
“It’s personal for them, just like it was personal for us,” he said of the community that has suffered 115 confirmed deaths, with 800 people still missing
“We can’t save anyone at this point, but if we can provide closure and some help, that’s really why we’re here,” he said of the ongoing searches two weeks after the deadliest US wildfires in more than a century.
“We’ll be here as long as we need to.”
Kenny is joined in Maui by NYPD Detective Scott Mateyaschuk and Detective Specialist Monika Grejniec, who both traveled there to work with canine teams. Mateyaschuk is part of the NYPD ESU Canine Team and chairman for Urban Search and Rescue Canines at FEMA.
“We’re working sunup to sundown out in the field — it’s a long day but we’re out here,” Mateyaschuk told The Post.
What we know about the Maui wildfires
At least 114 people have died in the Maui wildfires that started last Tuesday.
The wildfires, fanned by strong winds, burned multiple buildings, forced evacuations and caused power outages in several communities.
The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora was partly to blame for the strong winds that knocked out power as night came. About 13,000 residents in Maui were without power, according to reports.
People rushed into the ocean to escape the smoke and flames fanned by Hurricane Dora.
Fire crews battled multiple fires in the popular tourist destination of West Maui and an inland mountainous region. Firefighters struggled to reach some areas that were cut off by downed trees and power lines.
Last week, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said dog teams were moving meticulously through hard-hit areas in the hopes of finding and identifying human remains.
The slow process is further complicated by the dogs themselves, who can only work for about 15 minutes at a time before their paws get too hot on the scorched earth left by the 1,000-degree inferno, Green explained.
“I think the biggest challenge is operating in these temperatures,” Mateyaschuk agreed.
“But we’ve come up with a system where we’re protecting the dogs [with booties] and they’re moving quite nicely now over the material, so we’re able to get a lot of areas covered and searched.”
As a result, Mateyaschuk said, “the dogs are putting a lot of pieces in the puzzle” as experts continue to retrieve remains to be identified.
“The dogs in the FEMA program are trained to a very high level. And they’re needed here,” he said.
Stephen Bjune from FEMA Urban Search and Rescue previously told The Post that the recovered bodies are “partial remains,” impossible to find with the naked human eye.
Formally identifying the victims is another lengthy process that could take years.
Follow the latest NYP coverage of the deadly Maui wildfires
- Number of missing after Maui fires increases to 1,100 as crews recover ‘crumbling’ bodies
- Biden faces brutal backlash for ‘poor taste’ jokes while visiting Maui wildfires site: ‘Comic relief tour’
- Ground Zero veteran among three NYPD cops on the ground in Maui: ‘People came to help us … now we’re coming out to help them’
- Top emergency officials were on another island learning how to respond to disasters when Maui wildfires started
Like Kenny, Mateyaschuk said he is driven by the possibility of bringing some peace to those whom the deceased left behind.
“It’s slow and methodical work, but it’s bringing a lot of closure,” he said.
The NYPD veterans say the heartbroken community has been grateful for their efforts.
“We’re not doing anything special, we’re just using a little bit of the skills and expertise we have to try and help them,” Kenny said.
“It’s a beautiful island with a really ugly scar on it, unfortunately, for a while.”
