Pagers seem an obvious tool for alerting fire crews, but coverage can be fraught in rural areas.
However, a trial has determined that Ngawi, Tora, Tinui and Castlepoint are able to have pager coverage, with only Riversdale Beach missing out.
In the past, rural fire forces have relied on phone trees and the depot fire siren.
The pagers and Infil repeater systems for the four rural fire forces were approved by the Wairarapa Rural Fire Districts board last month, thanks to a subsidy from the National Rural Fire Authority.
Rural fire office Grant Detheridge-Davies said the benefits of pagers included a larger turnout from crews, their continuing function during power cuts, communication beyond the hearing range of the sirens, and crews who were better informed.
