A shortage of volunteers means the Maketu Volunteer Fire Brigade may soon be unable to guarantee that it will be able to respond to emergencies.
A spokesman said with the loss of several members due to illness and retirement, the brigade is suffering a major shortage of volunteers.
People movingaway from the area has added to the problem, he said.
Maketu Fire Brigade members are all volunteers and attend around 230 emergency callouts a year. The brigade are usually the first on the scene at serious car crashes and incidents were people need help urgently.
Each member gives an average of more than 200 hours of their time to emergency callouts annually, with a further 160 hours devoted to training.
