Firefighter camp designed to ignite career paths of young women

Orillia's first-ever Camp Molly is designed to interest women in a career in firefighting.

Thirty-six young women, ages 15 to 18, are learning all about firefighting at the camp, with some participants back for a second time.

"The first time, I was in Vaughan, and it was amazing. It honestly was so fun. It made me want to come back again. We've had a brief overview of almost everything - auto extraction, we were doing search and rescue, we've gone into the fires. You learn so much, from the tools you're using to how to do the actual exercise," said Lauren Glass.

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Participants learn basic firefighter training over four days.

"They're doing live fire training with the Ontario Fire College, they're learning about fire service ladders, ropes and knots, search and rescue and then we're also teaching them about the other divisions in the service like the fire prevention division and the communication division as well," said Orillia's Deputy Fire Chief Chris Ferry.

The first two days of training take place in Orillia, and the last two days are in Ramara.

"They're going to do forceable entry, they're going to do a combat challenge, auto extrication, and then there's some public education stuff they're learning," said Ramara Deputy Fire Chief Ashley Noganosh.

This camp was inspired by Molly Williams of New York, who fought to become the first-ever female firefighter more than 200 years ago.

Although Camp Molly started in 2019, this is the first time it has taken place in Orillia.

This camp was designed to introduce young women to the fire industry.

"I think, right now, we average between three to five per cent of women in the fire industry, so the more women you can get in, the more robust that industry will become," said Inge Pudelek, treasurer with Camp Molly.

Officials hope to expand this camp all across Canada in the near future.

Camp Molly will also be taking place in Barrie at the end of September. Applications are due by July 26.