Mother's Day: Northland mother and daughter a firefighter duo

Mavis Meteria Heremaia with her daughter Naini Heremaia-Black, who reflects on her mother's life so far on Mothers' Day. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Growing up in rural Rāwhiti, when sirens went off most people thought, "fire", but Naini Heremaia-Black thought: "Mum".

"We'd be like, ah there goes our mum."

For Heremaia-Black, volunteering is the norm. She said growing up in the Bay of Islands settlement she thought "everyone's got a volunteer mum or dad".

"Someone would say, 'there's a fire up in the hills!' And our mum would be running out with a spade and axe and the chainsaw and you'd be like, what the heck's going on?

"She was always gone, she was always out on tracks and she cut a lot of the DoC tracks ... so she was already out on the hills when she got called out."

Heremaia-Black has now been volunteering for almost 15 years, a portion of that time side-by-side with her mother, Mavis Meteria Heremaia, at the Rāwhiti Fire Brigade.

"When you're out on the field and you're working with your family member, communication is a lot easier.

"You've already got that relationship so you know what they can handle.

"They could feel what you felt, see what you see and deal with what you had to deal with."

Going from watching her mother be in the fire brigade to working in it herself has helped Heremaia-Black's appreciation for her mother grow.

"When I was growing up, I wanted to be just like my mum, she was my hero.

"As I grew into an adult, I realised that it wasn't as easy as she made it out to be.

Mavis Meteria Heremaia and her daughter Naini Heremaia-Black, who she inspired to become a volunteer firefighter through her own volunteering. Photo / Michael Cunningham

"I sometimes wonder how she managed to do the things she did."

Meteria Heremaia gave up volunteering years ago to concentrate on her career, but her blood remains in the forces of volunteering across Northland.

"It was awesome in Rāwhiti fire brigade because we were actually blood family."

"So we always made sure if we left with each other, we came home with each other."

Heremaia-Black's husband joined the Rāwhiti brigade when she did, and he still volunteers with them today.

Heremaia-Black now lives in Kawakawa and volunteers for their urban fire brigade.

She moved to be closer to her mother and take care of her as she became unwell.

Heremaia-Black said that four to five years ago, her mum was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, "so I manage her health and medications, her chemo injections, I do all that for her".

It was a lot to take on at first, she said, but it's volunteering that keeps her feet grounded and her head in perspective.

"Going on the callouts was good because it showed you, that no matter what you're going through, there are people out there who are actually going through worse.

"These guys have maybe lost their dad or mum, and I'm grumbling about having to manage my mum and her sickness.

"At least I still have my mum with me to appreciate her."