Te Kāhui Kaipatuahi o Aotearoa

Posted 18 Sep '20 under Featured News

The NZPFU is embracing the nation’s recognition of te reo Māori starting with the translation of our name.

Te Kāhui Kaipatuahi o Aotearoa is a translation of NZ Firefighters’ Union.

Union translates as Kāhui, meaning, gathering, herd or company of. It is also a constellation of stars and comes from the word hui 'to meet, gather, assemble'
There are three elements to Kaipatuahi - kai is a prefix to denote a worker, patu is to hit/fight and ahi is fire

We greatly appreciate the assistance of Auckland Station Officer Barry Thomas who, with the guidance of his te reo Māori expert, provided the translation.

Barry has also provided a recording to assist with pronunciation.

We are working on updating our website so that we include the translation permanently.

Maori Language week has been celebrated in Aotearoa since 1975. In 2017 the Mahuru Māori initative began to promote the use of te reo Māori throughout the month of September. Mahuru Māori is a challenge for us all to take up Māori language in our every-day lives no matter what our current level of speaking Māori may be. This is an opportunity for us all to learn, raise awareness and contribute to the revitalising of te reo Māori.

Near Disaster on the North Shore

25 Apr

Members will no doubt be aware of the major 5th Alarm fire that broke out last night on the North Shore. This fire had widespread impacts to people across Tamaki Makaurau with several Emergency Alerts having to be made. Additionally, our thoughts go out the local community, including the owner, tenants, and staff of the businesses impacted.

Major Fire Causes Widespread Disruption to Auckland Fleet

7 Mar

Members will no doubt be aware of Wednesday's major fire in a scrapyard in Papakura. Whilst the cause of this fire is still under investigation what is known is that the impacts of it were widespread right across Auckland.

Return to Work Duties

23 Feb

We have been told that staff wanting to do Return to Work Duties will have to do them at District HQ and they do not intend to reimburse your travel costs, “you are getting an enhanced pay and you can fund your own travel”. We have since got an agreement that the travel distance reimbursement will be paid for travel to District HQ.