<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2HHAY3_0wEKTI3O00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2HHAY3_0wEKTI3O00" width="1280" height="720" ><figcaption>The city of Avondale organized CAMP HERo to help high school students interested in the fire service explore their passion and learn more about the career. (City of Avondale/Submitted)</figcaption></figure>The city of Avondale’s Fire and Medical is organizing a free camp for high school girls interested in the fire service, providing training, hands-on experience and education regarding the demands of a firefighter while illustrating the need for women in the profession.The city’s inaugural Camp HERo will run from Nov. 15 to Nov. 17, accepting female participants aged 14 to 18. The no-cost three-day camp is a rare opportunity to learn directly from firefighters about the career field and garner valuable experience, including a Stop the Bleed certification, said Gabby Bobinsky, camp organizer and the office of public safety community outreach coordinator. Furthermore, the camp is an ideal opportunity for young girls who have little or no experience in the fire service yet desire to explore the opportunities in the career path.“We just want to give young girls the tools to get hired on if they’re interested in that, or just to understand how strong they really are,’ Bobinsky said. “It’s a physically taxing job. So this camp will be pretty physical, and girls are capable of doing so much more than they expect. This camp will really help show them that.”The camp starts at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, at Avondale Fire Station No. 172 for introductions and expectations for the camp. Families will have dinner, and the first day of camp will conclude at 7 p.m. Camp will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, and Sunday, Nov. 17, at Avondale Fire Station No. 174 and Phoenix Raceway, respectively. The weekend events include hands-on activities, firefighter training and interviews with female firefighters, and the city will provide lunch.According to the U.S. Fire Administration, approximately 9% of U.S. firefighters are women, but only 5% of career firefighters are women. The Avondale fire department is on par with the national average, but Bobinsky hopes to see the number increase in the near future.“Having a diverse crew is really a strength. It’s really a strength that Avondale recognizes,” Bobinsky said.While it is a male-dominated profession, the first female firefighters in the country’s history date back centuries. In 1815, Molly Williams, an enslaved woman in New York City, became a member of Oceanus Engine Company No. 11. In 1973, the United States saw the first woman to become a fire chief in Oregon when Ruth Capello took her oath.Today, women offer a unique skill set to the fire service that their male counterparts oftentimes lack. For starters, most women in the Avondale fire department are around 5-foot or 5-foot-2, Bobinsky said, making their frame tinier than a vast majority of male firefighters. This gives them the ability to squeeze into small spaces and approach the job in a different way.“Men and women just have different strengths, and that’s why people assume that women can’t do a job like this. But what we are going to show the girls is how to accomplish the same skills as men in fire do. It’s just going to be in a different way,” Bobinsky said.Victims and witnesses are typically more inclined to share sensitive information with women than men, Bobinsky said, and can make them feel more comfortable.They will also earn a Stop the Bleed certification, which trains them to respond to a bleeding emergency. Bobinsky said that approximately 75% of the jobs in the fire service involve medical response, so organizers wanted to ensure these responsibilities were a focal point of camp.</div></body>

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Avondale to host girls fire camp

The city of Avondale’s Fire and Medical is organizing a free camp for high school girls interested in the fire service, providing training, hands-on experience and education regarding the demands of a firefighter while illustrating the need for women in the profession. The city’s inaugural Camp HERo will run...