“Even when she wasn’t around, she was always available,” says Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Kiana Kam of retired battalion chief Debbi Eleneki. “I regularly knocked on her door when I started as captain. She’d listen, encourage me to think of my own solutions. She pushes people to be, and do, their best.” Kam is one of 24 wahine in the department today, out of 1,127 firefighters. Thirty-five years ago, there was only one: Eleneki.
Eleneki’s fire to serve the community came from her dad, Peter Akiona, a retired rescue firefighter. He never expected her to follow in his footsteps; instead he instilled in her the values of respecting others, giving back and keeping your word. Those ethics prepared her to enter the firehouse in 1987 with heart, humility and hard work.