On 14 October 2025, as part of New Zealand’s National ShakeOut Day, the Napier Hill Community Emergency Hub successfully activated its new SMART EPOD, delivered by FIRST72. The event marked a key milestone for the community and showcased how the EPOD to support the transition to a fully operation community emergency hub during emergencies.

The project was a collaboration between Napier Central School and the local Napier Hill Community Response Team. The initiative demonstrated the value of community-led readiness and the importance of having reliable systems in place for communication, coordination and welfare.

FIRST72 will continue to support the Napier Hill community through a series of training sessions in 2025/2026, focused on hub activation, communications and response coordination.

Read the full story here: https://www.first72.org.nz/epod-shakeout-day-test/