Edmonton firefighter camp aims to inspire more women

Firefighting is a primarily male-dominated career, but Edmonton Fire Rescue Service’s (EFRS) training camp is hoping it will spark a new interest for women and gender-diverse individuals.

“It’s so important for these participants to see people that look like them, doing this job, doing a physical job, and having fun and supporting each other in this safe environment,” said Daisy vanRavenswaay who is a camp coordinator for Camp Inspire, and one of the few female firefighters in Edmonton.

The three-day camp encourages women and gender minorities from all backgrounds to experience and learn firefighting skills first-hand. The 20 participants had an opportunity to do many tasks including extinguishing a vehicle fire, extinguishing a structure fire, and rappeling from a building.

“Oh my goodness, so this morning I rappelled down this building, what an incredible feeling going upside down, and having someone up there watching you, it’s so cool, said Isabella Calahoo Zeller, one of the Camp Inspire participants.

Daisy vanRavenswaay with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services says only 4 per cent of firefighters in Canada are women. Edmonton is below the national average with less than 1 per cent.

She says Camp Inspire is all about breaking down some of the barriers preventing women from pursuing this career.

“The participants are able to get their hands on what it feels like to be a firefighter, they are going to fight a car fire, going to pull a person out of a structure fire, they’re going to learn what kind of medical calls we go to, they are going to do a forceable entry, breach through a wall, go through a wire entanglement and they’re going to rappel down this really cool building,” she said.

EFRS is trying to extinguish the lack of diversity by providing a hands-on training camp for those under-represented in the field.

“The city is showing that people from different backgrounds, and diverse backgrounds can do it. And those are the people that I think are going to come in, think differently than everyone has before, and challenge the status quo, and it’s those people who are going to be the new leaders and the next generation of firefighters,” said Jess Phillips who is a Camp Inspire participant.

Diana Siwila is another Camp Inspire participant who says she came into this with no expectations.

“[I’m] looking for something to drive my career going forward. I’ve done a lot of different things with my life, and experienced different things, and I think having experiences like this, and getting to meet people and network, and meet people from different backgrounds and different stories in life, has led us all to the same space is super important.”

The next round of firefighting recruitment for EFRS opens on Jan. 1, 2023. Many participants from Camp Inspire say they are ready to apply.

“I never really thought about it, but now I’m like ‘I’m fully here for firefighting, I will be applying in January,” said Isabella Calahoo Zeller, one of the Camp Inspire participants.

To learn more about camp inspire, and to check when the next training camp is you can visit the city of Edmonton website.