Day one of Camp FFIT in Sarnia. July 2019. (Photo by Sarnia Fire)Day one of Camp FFIT in Sarnia. July 2019. (Photo by Sarnia Fire)
Sarnia

Camp ignites interest in young women 'FFIT' for firefighting

A recent camp for young women interested in firefighting ignited quite a bit of interest.

Camp FFIT (Female Firefighters in Training) saw 17 women aged 15-19 go through pretty much everything real firefighters go through when training, according to Sarnia Fire Rescue Services Training Officer Jeremy Watts.

"So they rappelled down to the ground off the cold-fire tower, which is four-stories high, each one of these girls lifted a full-sized guy off the ground and dragged him just like we would," said Watts. "They put out live fires, they went through search and rescue missions in the tower with partially darkened out masks, they took part in auto extrications and forcible entry simulations -- it was all pretty impressive."

https://twitter.com/SarniaFire/status/1151871647453986817

Hannah Welch and Kim Lucier helped host the camp and are the only two female firefighters in Sarnia, which is less than two per cent of the 125-member complement.

Officer Watts said the goal of the camp was to ignite interest in young females to pursue a career in firefighting.

"It's a way for us to show them that this is not a gender-specific job. Like I say, every single one of them did what we do on any given day, so it was really about confidence-building and promoting gender diversity within our profession," said Watts.

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Watts said those interested in firefighting were encouraged to contact Lambton College or the schools in their area.

"There was actually some girls in the class that are enrolled in the fire school next year. I believe they were enrolled before they came, but I believe there are a few more girls that are interested in applying for the school," said Watts. "The camp was a major success and I believe everybody had a great time all week. A lot of girls were able to overcome what they maybe, in the beginning, thought were barriers and everyone did an amazing job."

Camp FFIT was launched in Ottawa in 2009 and has been running yearly across many Ontario communities since.

Watts is hopeful the camp will be returning to Sarnia for a second year next summer.

https://twitter.com/SarniaFire/status/1151186647192674306

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