Building Young Women’s Leadership, Confidence, and Teamwork in a Fire Service Environment

Camp Blaze. Camp Summer Heat. Camp Inferno. Camp Fully Involved. Phoenix Firecamp. Camp Courage. These week-long, hands-on programs introduce young women to a career in the fire service. With women firefighters as role models for physical excellence and mental toughness, through intense experiences and challenges, young women are being empowered.

Here’s a closer look at the five U.S. programs: Camp Blaze, Camp Summer Heat, Camp Inferno, Camp Fully Involved, and Phoenix Firecamp.

Camp Blaze is managed by female firefighters representing departments from across the country. It’s hosted by the Washington State Patrol Fire Training Academy in North Bend. Camp Blaze runs camps every other year. Their next camp will be in the summer of 2009.
Visit Camp Blaze's Website >>

Camp Summer Heat is run by the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Summer Heat starts July 12th.
Visit Camp Summer Heat's Website >>

Camp Inferno is hosted by the Overland Park Fire Department in Kansas. Co-sponsors are Consolidated Fire District No.2, the Leawood, Shawnee and Olathe fire departments, and Johnson County Med-Act. June 8th is the day Camp Inferno starts this summer.
Visit Camp Inferno's Website >>

Camp Fully Involved is sponsored by the Fire Instructors and Officers Association of New Hampshire and the Daniel Webster Council's Learning for Life division. The New Hampshire State Fire Academy is the host site for housing and training. Camp Fully Involved begins on August 3rd.
Visit Camp Fully Involved's Website >>

Phoenix Firecamp is sponsored by Fire Service Women of New York State in partnership with the Utica Fire Department. July 20th is this summer’s start date.
Visit Phoenix Firecamp's Website >>

Camp Summer Heat is the only day camp among the group.

Camp Fully Involved and Phoenix Firecamp will accept applicants as young as 14. The top age is 20 at Camp Fully Involved while it’s 19 for the other four camps.

Phoenix Firecamp is open only to young women from New York State. Camp Summer Heat is only open to young women from Colorado. The other camps get applications from all over the U.S. and the world!

Camp Inferno randomly selects its participants from completed applications. Camp Blaze, Camp Summer Heat, Camp Fully Involved, and Phoenix Firecamp select on the basis of who will benefit the most.

“It’s an aggressive, hands-on program where the young women work through all aspects of the fire service and gain in confidence and leadership skills,” says Jess Wyman, firefighter and Director of Camp Fully Involved. “And it’s all done in a non-biased, non-judgmental atmosphere. You can fall on your face. Pick yourself up and do it again. The experience is transforming. Parents tell us that at the end of camp, they’re picking up a different child!”

Captain Julie Harper with the Overland Park Fire Department, who helped Jess and was herself inspired by Camp Blaze, further explains, “They’re living together 24 hours at a time; fighting live fires; and learning search-and-rescue techniques, rappelling, CPR and first aid. It’s a safe place to learn and to fail and to have fun.”

Except for Camp Fully Involved, which charges $300, the camps are free, excluding a $25 application fee. But Camp Fully Involved has scholarships to cover anyone who has difficulty paying.

Lieutenant Amy Bannister, with the Seattle Fire Department and one of the founders of Camp Blaze, estimates that she volunteers about 1,000 hours a year. Core staff and other volunteers at all the camps pay their own expenses, including travel and lodging. “There’s no way to price the transformation that the campers go through,” she says. “We’re looking ahead to the next generation. It’s a privilege for us.” That sentiment was expressed by each of the leaders we spoke to.

Camp Courage in Halifax, Canada, has the unique distinction of providing experiences in the three emergency service professions—paramedic, police, and firefighter. Camp Courage is free and accepts young women aged 15-19. This summer, Camp Courage starts July 6.
Visit Camp Courage’s Website>> 

Like its U.S. counterparts, Camp Courage has been a resounding success. So much so, that Andréa Speranza, Camp Courage’s founder and Executive Director, wants to expand it “across the country to benefit as many young women, emergency services and communities as possible.”

We think that the following quote from Camp Courage’s website speaks for all the young women who have been transformed by their participation in the fire camps:

“Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.”