Photo: GoFundMe
A 24-year-old Hawaii firefighter who was in critical condition after being swept into a storm drain has died.
Tre' Evans-Dumaran was helping residents in Maui on Jan. 27 after a storm caused flooding in the area when he gotswept into a storm drain, according to Maui County officials. He was later found 800 yards away from where the storm drain ended near the shoreline at Kulanihakoi Street.
Although he initially survived, county officialssharedthe news of his death on Saturday.
“We want to thank the entire community for the outpouring of love during this time,” Evans-Dumaran’s mother, Chelsie Evans, said in a statement. “My heart tells me that Tre' wants to say thank you for loving his family, his fire ‘ohana, his friends during this time.”
She went on to say that she knew her won would “want people to keep giving blood, to keep doing your part as a hero,in the way he lived every day on Earth.”
The firefighter was in Kihei on Jan. 27 responding to storm conditions when he was swept into the drain and into the ocean, per hisGoFundMeand acounty release. .
Evans-Dumaran, who worked for the fire department for over 3 years, was listed in critical condition at Maui Memorial Medical Center’s intensive care unit and treated with multiple “life-saving measures,” per the county. Before his death, loved ones said he had been “slowly making positive and promising signs of progress.”
In an update on GoFundMe, his mom said that his lungs were beginning to improve and that the the right side of his heart was “showing signs of struggle,” before it began responding well to medication. The next day, she said he opened his eyes gave a thumbs up at the request of those in the hospital.
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Sadly, on Saturday, the county confirmed his death.
“Today brought devastating newsto our firefighting ‘ohana. One loss is one too many and while we face the tremendous loss of one of our own, we are united in the strength we want to give to Tre’s family and to each other,” Fire Chief Brad Ventura shared in a statement.
“The amount of support from throughout our community and beyond Maui has been incredible. We’ve all felt the depth of aloha and it makes all the difference,” his statement continued. “Tre’ loved being a firefighter and he loved those he worked with. Serving the community came naturally to him because he was so happy to serve people.”
“Lord, hear me. You created THE most amazing soul and you gifted him to a teenage girl not ready to be a mom, but I took you up for the challenge,” Evans shared in an update on Sunday. “I loved that gift more than I knew a 15 year old’s heart could bare. I did my very best, although imperfect, to care for this beautiful gift with my whole being.”
source: people.com
