Local Fire Fighter Fights His First Marlin
Blair Howard, a local Fire Fighter from the Big Island fights his first Marlin. Along with his Mom visiting from the West Coast, they boarded the Fire Hatt with anticipation of what they might hook into today. Around 2:00pm the fish hit the short corner, ripped out line and was off! It came back and took down the short rigger and the fight was on. Blair had the 300+ pound Pacific Blue Marlin to the boat in about 25 minutes. The fish was released in great condition.
This did not surprise us being that Blair recently underwent 11 months of intensive instruction and fieldwork. The first 5½ months involved fire and rescue training that included a nationally recognized fire science curriculum, wildland fire training, hazardous materials operations training, rescue operations familiarization, lifeguard certification, and driver training. The remainder of his training was spent at the Emergency Medical Services Training Center where he earned his Emergency Medical Technicians Basic and Intermediate certifications. This fish did not stand a chance!