UPDATE During the devastating Lahaina fire last August, Hawaiian officials attempted to notify endangered local residents to evacuate. As the Star Advertiser reports, although numerous messages were sent, they were never received. County officials were unaware at the time that all 21 of the Lahaina cell towers were unable to transmit those messages due to the complete service outage prompted by the fire.
The civil complaint filed Wednesday in Maui Circuit Court alleges that wireless carriers were negligent in reporting the service outages in a timely manner. Among those named in the filing are Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ), T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS), Spectrum Mobile (NASDAQ: CHTR), Spectrum Mobile Equipment, AT&T Mobility, (NYSE: T) and others.
“The County sent at least fourteen separate Wireless Emergency Alert messages to individuals’ cell phones during this time frame, warning residents to immediately evacuate and otherwise providing important information in connection with the wildfires,” wrote attorney David J. Minkin, who was retained by Maui Corporation Counsel Victoria J. Takayesu. “Unbeknownst to the County, these alerts and warnings were not received by Maui’s residents, visitors, or citizens because cell towers across the island were experiencing widespread service outages.”
The Lahaina fire resulted in 101 deaths. The suit filed against the wireless providers asserts that failure to notice emergency responders about the cell tower outages contributed to that total.
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