Young women from across Halton had a chance to strap on some bunker gear and try their hand at firefighting this week.
The 26 teenage girls - including eight from Halton Hills - attended Blaze Fire Academy (formerly Camp Molly) in Oakville, which gave them a hands-on opportunity to learn more about careers in the fire service.
“We’ve got the girls trying their hand at every aspect of firefighting,” said Oakville Deputy Fire Chief Kalpana Rajgopalan.
From learning search and rescue techniques to using tools to tear a car apart like a firefighter would at an accident scene, the young ladies aged 15 to 18 got the full experience beyond fire suppression. They also learned more about the public education and prevention aspects of the fire service.
Staff from the Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills and Burlington fire departments teamed up to run the program.
“This would not have happened without the support and hard work of all the departments that make up the region to provide this amazing opportunity for the girls,” said Rajgopalan. “I’m very thankful.”
She explained that some of the girls in attendance were there to try out firefighting and see if it’s for them, while others are very focused on a career in the fire service.
Halton Hills teen Keillor Thomas falls into the latter group. The 16-year-old said she plans to pursue post-secondary education in firefighting.
“It (Blaze Fire Academy) was an awesome experience,” she told HaltonHillsToday. “It was really cool to see how everything works, and it made it clear that I’m interested in a career like this.”
Going forward, Rajgopalan said the hope is to have multiple programs run through Blaze Fire Academy that include other under-represented groups in the fire service.
“We really want to look at this through an inclusion lens,” she said.
Applications for next year’s program geared to teen girls will be accepted in the spring.
For further details, visit the Blaze Fire Academy page.
