Maraekakaho Rural Fire Brigade

26/10/2026

We’re anticipating a few windy days this week. If you’ve lit a burn pile or slash in the last two months, please take a few minutes to check it is still cold.

Burn piles and slash fires are the underlying causes of a lot of the fires we attend at this time of year (spring). The warm dry weather we’ve had over the last week and the wind bring anything burning underground back to the surface, and this often causes re-ignitions. Make sure everything is well buried, cold and extinguished.

If you have any problems, don’t hesitate to call 111 early.

16/10/2026

We’re 2/3 of the way to raising the funds to replace the batteries in our community AED’s. Many thanks to all those who have contributed - if you had intended but not managed to yet, now is a great time to do so! These are an important resource that the Rural Life Support initiative announced last weekend will build on.

In 2022, we successfully deployed eight publicly available AED’s around Maraekakaho and surrounding areas. As these reach four years of age, they each require a new battery pack which we are now fundraising for.

The latest stats show that across New Zealand, people who experience a cardiac arrest had a 2.4x increased survival rate if an AED was used in the community prior to emergency services arriving. This is even more important in rural places like Maraekakaho, where Ambulance in particular typically respond from Hastings and the initial care in the community is critical.

With each battery/pad pack costing ~$550, we need any support you can provide. The easiest way to donate is to make a deposit to the Maraekakaho Church Hall Trust - the details are;

Maraekākaho Church Hall Trust Board
03 1518 0005935 000

Please include your name in the particulars box and “AED donation” in the reference box. If anyone wants a tax receipt, please email [email protected].

You can always find the nearest AED to you if you download the “AED Locations” app to your smartphone.
The original project was a joint effort by the fire brigade, Focus MKK and the Maraekakaho Church Hall Trust.

15/10/2026

Great to support the launch of the Maraekākaho Rural Life Support Project with the local resilience team. The Maraekākaho Hall Supper Room was standing room only for Dr Duncan Galletly's presentation launching our new Maraekākaho Rural Life Support Project. The main hall was full and the food quickly disappeared... 🙂

Lots of you have asked to be involved - the team will be in touch, and more info coming so please keep watching.

We also did a short talk on wildfire risk around properties - we’ve posted a couple of good links on this page during the week that are worth looking at. Thanks to the Fire and Emergency (FENZ) community risk reduction team who came out and supported us, including opening up the Hawke’s Bay mobile command truck for people to look through.

A big thank you also to our supporters - East Coast Rural Support Trust , Hastings District Council, Hastings District Neighbourhood Support, Karamu Catchment Collective, Maraekākaho Rural Fire Brigade volunteers (cooking, cleaning and demonstrating CPR), Hawke's Bay - Fire and Emergency, Focus MKK and others. The Evergreen Trust and Woolworths Flaxmere supported us financially so a big thank you to them too.

And finally, our two youngest volunteers, Poppy and Payton, demonstrated just how easy CPR and using an AED are. Thank you Poppy and Payton.

Partly reposted from Hall, edited for the Fire Brigade page! Several photo’s also reposted from Milmine, Kahuranaki Ward Councillor for Hastings District Council (thanks for joining us!).

14/10/2026

As we head into a higher risk summer, we’re keen to share this great tool for creating a wildfire preparedness plan! It’s on the checkitsalright.nz website - the same place you can find lots of other information on fire safety, as well as check what fires you can light and when.

If you simply answer a few questions, it will produce a customised plan that you can work through. If you have questions at the end of that or want to run it past the local brigade, feel free to message us (or email at [email protected]) and we’ll have one of our crew get in touch with you.

https://www.checkitsalright.nz/prepare-for-wildfire

14/10/2026

Thanks to everyone that came along to the wildfire talk at the open day at the Maraekakaho Hall on Sunday. After the excellent talks on the launch of the Maraekakaho Rural Life Support initiative and one from the Rural Support Trust, we were a bit constrained on time. The video below, recorded with Sam Whitelock (BSc in Plant Science, as well as an All Black legend!), was one thing that we ran out of time to play so sharing it for everyone here. It’s an excellent watch, and a good summary of many of the things we touched on ahead of a potentially hot and dry summer.

Carefully planning what you plant on your property can help you sta...

09/10/2026

Do you want to check or refresh your CPR skills or get a feel for what it’s like to help someone in cardiac arrest?

Come along to the community day on Sunday, where Catherine and Nat from the Fire Brigade crew will have the mannequins and AED available, and can help guide you through it.

We will do this in the hall, so don’t worry about the weather (good or otherwise). Everyone having a go will receive a coupon for a free barista coffee from the coffee cart (also open)!

As part of the event on Sunday 11th October (tomorrow) between 11am and 1pm, the resilience team will be launching the Maraekakaho Rural Life Support (RLS) which will train people in the community in basic skills to support peoples chance of survival (eg cardiac arrest, serious trauma, and other key life-threatening events) - come along and learn more!

We have a host of other things happening (including information on the native bats discovered recently, pest eradication, and a free BBQ for lunch).

09/10/2026

In the past year or so, we’ve had two people in Maraekakaho survive cardiac arrests (please respect their privacy). Fortunately they were with their partners right when it happened, and that those partners (and neighbours in one case) knew how to start CPR after calling 111.

Survival rates for cardiac arrests outside of hospital in New Zealand beyond 30 days sit around 12%, and lower in rural areas where it takes longer for Ambulance, backed up by Fire, to arrive. Knowing and being confident in how to perform CPR can make all the difference if someone around you has a cardiac arrest.

On Sunday between 11am and 1pm, the resilience team will be launching the Maraekakaho Rural Life Support (RLS) which will train people in the community in basic skills to support peoples chance of survival (eg cardiac arrest, serious trauma, and other key life-threatening events) - come along and learn more! The local fire brigade crew will also be on-hand to help you practice CPR if you want (we’ll buy you a coffee at the cart!), and we have a host of other things happening (including information on the native bats discovered recently, and a free BBQ for lunch).

08/10/2026

On Sunday, we will be running a talk on protecting your property from wildfire this summer. With the emergence of a strong El Nino weather pattern, we’re expecting dry and hot conditions which will likely drive higher fire risk.

During the session, we will be sharing more information on what wildfire is, how to prepare your lifestyle or rural house and it’s surrounds from wildfire, and some of the plans your family should put in place now. There will be particular focus on risk factors such as hillsides, properties with a single way in and out, and how vegetation can be managed to reduce the speed and intensity of wildfire moving through the landscape.

Come along to the the launch of the Maraekakaho Rural Life Support initiative at the Maraekakaho Hall this Sunday (11th October, from 11am - 1pm). We will also have the Fire and Emergency Command Truck set up for kids to have a look at, and lots of other activities including a free BBQ.

25/09/2026

MetService have released a Strong Wind Warning for Sunday 27th September. If you have burnt any piles in recent weeks, check they are fully extinguished and hold off lighting any new ones!

⚠️💨 STRONG WIND WARNING – Hawke’s Bay south of Hastings 💨⚠️
26/09/26 – 9:58AM
MetService New Zealand has issued a Strong Wind Warning for Hawke’s Bay south of Hastings, period of 8 hours from 8am to 4pm Sunday, 27 September.
Severe gales west to northwest are forecast to become severe with gusts reaching 120 km/h in exposed places.
⚠️Strong wind gusts like these could damage trees, powerlines, and unsecured structures.
🚗 Take extra care on the roads (especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles)
🏠♻️🗑 🪑 Secure any outdoor items like wheelie bins, trampolines and outdoor furniture that may blow around.
Keep an eye on the weather and visit https://www.metservice.com/warnings/home for the latest updates.

31/08/2026

Tip for the day – give your smoke alarm a quick vacuum once a month!

Living in a rural area that gets dry and more than a bit windy in spring, we inevitably get dust inside our houses. This sometimes contributes to smoke alarms going off – a good way to avoid this is to put the vacuum up to them once a month. You don’t need to take them off the ceiling – just take the attachment off the end of the vacuum pipe and run it over the vents of the smoke alarm.

If you’d like a home fire safety visit from the local team, give Linda a call on 021 215 9187. There’s no cost - Linda and Mark can check smoke alarms, install an extra free one if you need it, and provide some home fire safety education for the family.