Waihi Beach Volunteer Coastguard had been rationing fuel for three months to save money, only for thieves to steal the lot within two nights of them refilling it.
Co-president Jacqui Paterson said the fuel was taken over the two nights immediately after the tank was refilled on June 29, leaving the not for profit facing a bill of close to $5000.
The unit had been minimising fuel use for months amid rising costs and supply issues.
"We've been really careful and diligent... the crew's been doing theory training or very close-to-shore training – launching and retrieving – to try and keep the cost right down, given the difficult time," she told 1News.
By the time it was refuelled, the tank held only a couple of hundred litres.
She said whoever broke in used electric-powered tools that threw sparks to cut into the tank, which was holding highly flammable petrol.
"They could have blown themselves up. They could have literally killed themselves getting it."
The theft wasn't discovered straight away as the tank sits apart from the main building in its own dedicated area.
Paterson said she'd parked right beside the tank just days before it was filled, and everything looked fine. It came to light when the unit's operations manager, on site for other work, noticed a cut in the surrounding fence.
"The boat's always full, but you do worry that if it hadn't been refuelled when it came back and someone needed rescuing, technically we might not have been able to get out to them."
She said the financial hit was significant for a charity that relies entirely on volunteers and community support to operate.
"It's just very discouraging – it takes the wind out of your sails. It's a bit of a kick in the guts, to be honest," she said.
"We just want to do a good job for the community,"
Paterson said the theft was reported to police, who attended and took CCTV footage from the Coastguard's cameras.
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