Gisborne firefighter Kodi Campbell, currently on secondment to Fire and Emergency New Zealand in Rotorua, features in the Wāhine Toa Firefighter Calendar, a fundraiser for breast cancer research.
Gisborne firefighter Kodi Campbell, currently on secondment to Fire and Emergency New Zealand in Rotorua, features in the Wāhine Toa Firefighter Calendar, a fundraiser for breast cancer research.
Gisborne’s Kodi Campbell is among the women featured in the Wāhine Toa Firefighter Calendar for 2026, a fundraising initiative for Breast Cancer Cure.
The 26-year-old and 12 other female firefighters, including former Black Ferns international Becky Wood, from nine fire stations in three cities took part in a photo shootfor the publication.
All proceeds from the calendar go to not-for-profit charitable trust Breast Cancer Cure to be used for research.
“All of us are just your normal, everyday women and it’s been completely out of our comfort zones to do this,” Wood told the NZ Herald.
Wood’s mother underwent intensive breast cancer surgery in recent months.
“As a family member, you’re kind of on the sidelines and you feel pretty helpless in their journey. This is a way that I feel like I can actually do something to help and support.”
Routine testing is one of the most important things women can do. If the calendar encouraged some to get a mammogram, “it’s all worth it”, Wood said.
With females making up only 6.1% of career firefighters in New Zealand, Wood told the Herald she hoped the calendar would also highlight the viability of firefighting as a career for women.
Speaking with the Gisborne Herald, Campbell said the calendars had raised $200,000 as of Sunday, selling out pre-orders in 26 hours and surpassing the $100,000 goal.
A post on the Tairāwhiti – Fire and Emergency New Zealand Facebook page says: “We are incredibly proud to see one of our own, Kodi, starring in the Wāhine Toa Firefighter Calendar 2026 – a celebration of the strength, mana and courage of the wāhine who serve in the fire service across Aotearoa.”
The more than 40 comments on the post include the following:
“Proud of you my friend.”
“Ataahua Coastie wahine toa, thank you for all the hard mahi you put in for Te Tai Rawhiti.”
“Awesome Kodi.”
And one message aimed at the whole group ... “Respect beautiful wahine – our heroes.”
The calendar features 13 female firefighters, including Gisborne's Kodi Campbell (back row, third from right). Photo / Flora Driessen
Campbell has been on secondment for a few months from Gisborne to Fire and Emergency in Rotorua due to staff shortages.
She started with Fire and Emergency NZ in Gisborne in 2019.
Campbell is a former world and national waka ama champion and a talented hockey player, who has also competed successfully in national and international CrossFit competitions.
The Wāhine Toa Firefighter Calendar can be ordered through the Breast Cancer Cure website under “Calendar” at the top of the home page. Pre-orders close on November 10.
