As in many other industries, women firefighters are taking steps to show girls what career possibilities are available to them. Several of the 38 women in the Los Angeles fire department, which employs 4,000 firefighters, decided to take action and hold a “Girls Fire Camp.”
After success of the camp, geared to girls age 15 to 18, the women decided to implement another idea and reach out to women who could actually be recruited. They created the Women’s Fire Prep Academy and attracted 100 women who were 18 or older and who had graduated from high school. Sixty of those were accepted to the class which ran eight weeks, twice a month for 4-5 hours.
According to Erin Regan, one of the program’s founders, “I realize that firefighting isn’t for every girl, but most girls never even consider it to be a possibility.”