Pumicelands is the rural fire authority responsible for issuing fire permits and fighting rural fires across the Bay of Plenty and Central North Island.

Pumicelands was formed in 2015 following the amalgamation of the 10 separate rural fire districts in the Central North Island region.

The Pumicelands region covers approximately 2.35 million hectares of rural and forest areas in the wider Bay of Plenty, Taupo and South Waikato, excluding the metropolitan areas of Tauranga, Rotorua, Whakatane and Taupo.

Its mission is to protect lives, rural homes, orchards, farms, forests and conservation lands from the damaging effects of vegetation wildfires.

The Pumicelands region is broken up into eight rural fire zones Moana Tauranga Eastern Whakatane Opotiki Tokoroa South Waikato Rotorua which includes forests Taupo Turangi DOC Urewera and Tongariro.

Each zone has a local representative to support on the ground operations process permit applications based on local knowledge be the main point of contact for the area and strengthen community partnerships.

Fire permits are required for all open air fires including controlled burns campfires cooking fires rubbish fires and braziers.

Fire permits can be easily applied for online at pumicelands.co.nz with information also stored online to make it even easier to apply in the future if you need help or want to talk to someone in your area contact your local zone representative by visiting the About Us section of the website.

For people with limited internet or computer access permits can still be applied for through local councils or by contacting relevant zone representatives.

Pumicelands works closely with partners such as the Department of Conservation and local councils in the development of fire plans health and safety plans and the responsible management of fire permits for rural areas.