In an effort to promote the job of firefighting as a viable career for women, the London Fire Department is holding a week-long mentoring camp.
The program called Camp FFIT London (Female Firefighters in Training), selects 20 young women out a 35-50 applicants to participate in a number of training exercises. A team of firefighters, training instructors, fire prevention inspectors, public educators and communicators are made available to offer their skills and insights.
"We engage them in many firefighter activities throughout the week that are completely physical and quite challenging," says program leader and London firefighter Allison Vickerd.
Vickerd says some of the activities include a ladder climb, search and rescue exercises, as well as a simulated car fire.
"They really go through a learning and a growth phase where they start really timid and not sure what their abilities are. But through our volunteers and the encouragement that they receive, by the end of the week they've completed [a number of] tasks," she says.
Vickerd says women, or men, thinking about into getting into the field of firefighting should definitely look into what the process entails. She says the mentoring camp gives the applicants an idea of what to expect.
"It's a really, really competitive profession to enter, and what we're trying to do with this mentoring program is show them how incredibly hard they have to work; not only during firefighter school, not only during the application process, but especially for the rest of their career," she says. We're just trying to show them what the work load is like and if they should pursue this profession, we've created this network of support for them."
There are 12 female firefighters currently working for the London Fire Department
The Camp FFIT London program runs from July 11-15 and is organized by the London Fire Department and Area Recreational Services, which are two departments within the city’s Neighbourhood, Children and Fire Services umbrella.
