There are reports that first responders on Maui are now dealing with breathing issues like coughing up soot after battling the Lahaina wildfire.
Tina Braddock is a hyperbaric oxygen therapy provider on Oahu and is volunteering her time to run free services on Maui for first responders.
It involves patients going into a pressurized environment and breathing pure oxygen for an extended period of time as a form of lung therapy and other health benefits.
She says it all started with a call from a police officer on the island asking for help.
“Called me saying they are coughing up blood and soot and he heard about my services and was asking for help,” said Braddock with Mana Warrior Health on Oahu’s North Shore.
“That was a Saturday morning, the week of the fires, within three days, we were setting up five hyperbaric chambers on the island.”