Can a camp ignite girls’ interest in becoming firefighters?

More than 30 teenage girls from the Charlotte region are learning what it takes to be a firefighter this week at the Charlotte Fire Department’s Camp Ignite. The girls face physical challenges such as climbing a 105-foot fire truck ladder to the sixth floor of the training tower, rappelling out a fifth-floor window, operating fire hoses and learning search and rescue techniques.

Alondra Carrion, who attends Bluffton High School in South Carolina, says she was inspired by her brother, who is a firefighter in the Marine Corps. “I always thought it would be really nice to be a firefighter with the adrenaline pumping and all that stuff,” she said.

And then there’s Summer Killman, a student at North Gaston High School, who is already a junior firefighter for Spencer Mountain Volunteer Fire Department. When asked if she’d like to pursue firefighting as a career, the 16-year-old said, “Maybe part time.”

John D. Simmons

This story was originally published June 21, 2018 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Can a camp ignite girls’ interest in becoming firefighters?."