Belleville Fire and Emergency Services’ first Camp Molly event is exposing teenage girls to career options in fire services.
Campers Makenna Smythe (right) and Zaraha Chamberlain (left) are prying a door open as part of the forced entry training.
The camp teaches participants about a wide range of skills, from using the fire hose and the jaws of life, to fire investigation and emergency medical.
Camper Zaraha Chamberlain (left) stumbles after she and Makenna Smythe (right) successfully pry open a door in forced entry training.
The camp is provided free of charge to the campers, with volunteers from several fire departments offering their time to come and mentor them.
Camper Shawna Franksy practices aiming a fire hose with one of the volunteer instructors.
One of the volunteers, Fire Chief Deanna Kirwin, says not enough people know about opportunities like Camp Molly for young girls looking at a career in firefighting.
“I wish I knew there was something like this when I was younger,” Kirwin said. “I had the opportunity to volunteer at some other female firefighter camps. This is my first Camp Molly, but not until I got into the fire service and started my career as a firefighter did I know these existed and I think we need to be shouting it from the mountains.”
Campers at Camp Molly practising fire investigation skills by examining the remains after a fire. From left to right, Xenniah Stinson, Lena Hemus, Mackenzie Letford and Kira Saito.
Kirwin went on to say she hopes to take some lessons learned from this event back to her own department to host similar camps.
Corrie Pearson examining the aftermath of a fire during Fire Investigation training at Camp Molly.
The campers are learning valuable skills for their future careers. Adison MacDonald, says she plans to become a volunteer firefighter.
Kia Pilatzke (front) and Shawna Fransky (behind) exit a smoke-filled building after successfully locating and extinguishing a simulated fire in the dark.
“I’m going to school next year for nursing, just a two year program and then after, hopefully, I can get on with fire,” said MacDonald.
Belleville Fire Chief Monique Belair started the Camp Molly program while working at Oakville Fire Department. This is the first year Belleville Fire and Emergency services hosted the camp.
A team of campers at Camp Molly receive instruction on how to move inside a smoke-filled structure.
Belair says she started the camp after meeting a young woman in 2018 who almost wasn’t allowed to go to a career event held at the fire station because her father didn’t believe women could be firefighters.
Camper Abbi Solomon recieves instruction on how to use a tool called a “nibbler” to cut through the windshield of a wrecked car.
“When she arrived I could tell she was a little upset and I said to her ‘what’s wrong?’ and she says ‘I didn’t think my dad was going to let me come today. He said don’t waste your career day at the fire station because women can’t be firefighters’ and this is in 2018!” Monique also said, “He actually looked me up on LinkedIn and couldn’t believe I had been in the service for over 30 years.”
Camp Molly is named in honour of Molly Williams, the first recognized female firefighter. Molly Williams, a black slave, was a firefighter in New York City in 1818.
Abbi Solomon (left) and Desiree Dracup (right) train with a cutter tool to remove the roof of a wrecked car.
The camp will continue until Sunday, ending with a ceremony at Belleville Fire Station 1.
