Vaughan launches camp to attract teen girls to a career in firefighting

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 21, 2017
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Vaughan is aiming to ignite an interest in firefighting among teenage girls.

To that end, the city is launching a female-only firefighter camp this summer for those aged 15 to 18.

“It’s providing them with exposure to the fire service in a supportive environment where they’re with their peers or their friends,” said Vaughan Deputy Fire Chief Deryn Rizzi, the first woman in York Region to achieve that rank. “We want to provide them with the exposure that this is a viable career for them and that it’s a fun, challenging career.”

Participants will experience what a typical recruit class would, including dousing a fire with a fire extinguisher, operating a pump, climbing an aerial ladder, breaking down a door, learning CPR and first aid and performing vehicle extrication with the Jaws of Life.

“Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service (VFRS) is proud of the percentage of female firefighters it has in the ranks of our fire service,” Rizzi said. “At 10 per cent of the operations staff being female (these are the suppression firefighters) it has one of the highest ratios, male-to-female, in any Canadian Fire Service. However, we know more can be done to encourage a diverse workforce.”

The five-day camp runs from July 17 to 21 at the Joint Operations Centre in Maple. Registration for the camp, which costs $250, opens Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Also new this summer is a junior firefighter camp for boys and girls aged 12 to 14.

Participants get to try on bunker gear, use fire hoses to knock down targets, watch vehicle extrication demonstrations and learn how to escape from a confined space, among other things, Rizzi said.

“We hope that they have fun, they learn more about the Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service; they learn more about fire and life safety; and learn more about first responders in general,” Rizzi said. “Regardless, they’ll develop leadership skills...and learn more about the importance of teamwork.”

There is a four-day junior firefighter camp at Al Palladini Community Centre in Woodbridge from July 4 to 7. The cost is $200.

Garnet A. Williams Community Centre in Thornhill is hosting a five-day junior firefighter camp, which costs $250, from July 10 to 14.

Registration for the junior firefighter camps also opens Feb. 22.

Rizzi noted the camps also help augment the fire service’s other initiatives to spread the word about fire safety.

“We’re putting a lot more effort and resources into our first line of defence, which is fire prevention. And the way you can go about fire prevention is through public education messaging,” Rizzi said. “We do a lot of events as it is - one-day events such as Winterfest, Canada Day - and what we find is we have to have a very succinct, 30-second, sound bite for our fire prevention message before that person moves on. This just provides an opportunity where we can deliver more robust public safety messaging and really engage people in our fire safety message.”

For more information, visit Vaughan.ca.