With firefighting often viewed as a male-dominated industry, London Fire Department aims to change that.
This week, 20 young girls and women from London and the Middlesex area are getting firsthand experience through Camp Future Firefighters in Training in what being a firefighter is really like.
Madison Brown, one of the camp participants, says she has been interested in firefighting since she was young but was unsure if it was suitable to pursue as a female. More than halfway through the camp, Brown says she has been instilled with more confidence.
“Having things like this has really made me want to be a part of the community,” said Brown. “I’m locked in, it’s only firefighting and firefighting only now.”
The camp is run at Fire Station 9 on Wellington Road all week. It introduces the participants to many firefighting skills and activities, including fire suppression with hoses, vehicle extraction and medical first aid.
Allison Vickerd, a London firefighter and one of the organizers of Camp FFIT, says one of the main goals is to instill in young girls and women that firefighting is a viable career choice.
“You never used to see necessarily women jumping off of a fire truck when it arrives on scene, so it was almost a subliminal messaging of people thinking there just wasn’t a place for women,” said Vickerd.
“So, we are trying to be more visible in the community and have programs like this to show them that they absolutely can be firefighters.”
Another goal is to show the participants that there is more to being a firefighter than racing to a fire to put out the blaze.
“Throughout the years we have run the program, we have seen participants carry on to post-secondary programs that includes communications or fire investigations, so we saw the need to incorporate those elements,” Vickerd said.
The program is run almost entirely by London and area firefighters volunteering their time. Vickerd says one of the coolest parts of the program now being in its seventh year is that some of the original participants have returned to be volunteers. Mackenzie Martin is one of those examples.
“This camp showed me that it is possible for a female to go into a dominated environment and rock it,” said Martin.
“You really get to see every side of the department and what may suit you best.”
Raquel Scratch, whose father has been a firefighter for over 30 years, tells Global News that besides learning more about her dad’s profession, a primary interest in the program was to help expand her knowledge of first aid as a lifeguard. But now, with the camp almost over, she says she has learned way more than expected.
“This week has made me realize that I want to become a firefighter,” said Scratch. But aside from a possible career, Scratch says her biggest takeaway has been the firefighting environment.
“Right when I came in, I was greeted and given a nickname and met five new, now really close friends.”
All the volunteers and organizers expressed joy that on Monday morning, most of the participants were shy and barely talking, but by the end of the first day, it was as though everyone had known each other for years.
“We put them in some uncomfortable situations that are completely safe just to show them what they are capable of doing,” said Vickerd.
The program wraps up on Friday, where the participants will get to climb up a fire ladder three stories before being rappelled down.