There were some very happy campers at the arena in Hillsborough, N.B., on Wednesday. Nine girls aged 14 to 18 are halfway through their full week at the Maritime Ignite Fire Academy, learning the same skills firefighters do. Myah Trottier of Moncton wants to make a career out of it. The 18-year-old said she would start by becoming a volunteer, just like her father in Petitcodiac. “I was expecting this would be pretty hard work because fire fighting is always very hands-on. So, I was expecting a lot of hard work and yeah, I got what I expected,” said Trottier. Sixteen-year-old Vittoria Naderi of Fredericton is staying in a hotel for a week with mother while she attends camp. “I’ve always really wanted to be a firefighter for a long time now. When I found out they were doing this camp I was really interested and I’m also planning on volunteering at a fire house close to my home,” said Naderi. Camp director Jessica O’Dell has been a volunteer firefighter in Hillsborough and Salisbury for 17 years. She started when she was 18, the same age as some of her campers. “It was something I never had as a kid,” said O’Dell. She’s always wanted to hold a camp like this and after being inspired by female firefighters during a recent conference in Ontario, O’Dell decided to launch the unique summer camp this year. “Not only is recruitment down around the province, but there also isn’t a lot of females in the service right now. So, this is to help gain recruitment as well as get more females into the fire service,” said O’Dell. She said there weren’t many women in uniform when she started, so it warms her heart to see nine girls from around the province embrace the hard work, eager to learn everything they can. But it was a shy group when they started on Sunday. “Now when they’re not doing something they’re talking. They’re getting into things. They’re discussing things. They’re making friends, they’re making memories and they are having a good time doing it,” said O’Dell. Make no mistake, this camp is not a day at the beach. Camp starts at 7 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. each day. The girls are wearing full gear for most of the sessions in 30 C temperatures. While not to the same extent, the girls are learning everything a firefighter would do on a day-to-day basis. Skills like fire prevention, vehicle extraction, breaking down doors, rescuing people, hose deployment and fighting wildfires are all part of the program. “These girls, they’re not over 100 pounds, 150 pounds, and they were dragging 200-pound people across the floor,” said O’Dell. Naderi said she enjoyed the rescue and the auto extraction the most so far. “That was a lot of fun getting to tear apart a truck,” said Naderi. “That was very fun.” Same goes for 15-year-old Myra Cormier of Sainte-Marie-de-Kent. “Probably cutting the car up and breaking the windows. And search and rescue,” she said. Isabell MacDonald of Riverview decided she want to come to the camp when O’Dell showed up to a Girl Guides meeting. “She gave us a presentation on the camp she was doing and I thought, ‘Wow, that is so cool,’ and she talked a lot about women empowerment, and I love women empowerment and empowering people and I really wanted to come and see what it was all about,” said MacDonald. The 14-year-old said it’s been a hard week so far, physically. “You’re in a suit all of the time and it’s like super hot and you’re dying from heat and you’ve got to lift really heavy things,” said MacDonald. There’s been a variety of guest speakers and instructors each day ranging from the Department of Natural Resources, Office of the Fire Marshall, Tri-County Search and Rescue as well experienced firefighters. It’s definitely not your typical summer camp for kids. “It’s a lot of motivational skills, it’s a lot of teamwork, it’s a lot of adapting, because in the fire service that’s what you do, you adapt all the time,” said O’Dell. Each camp participant will receive their first aid and CPR certificate as well as the Stop the Bleed course. Camp for the girls wraps up Saturday with an obstacle course, ceremony of recognition and a certificate of completion of the program. Then, it’ll be the boys’ turn when camp starts up again on Sunday. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
