Fresno Fire to host girls' empowerment camp in November

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- With less than 8% of firefighters in the nation being women, the Fresno Fire department is hoping to spark change in the male-dominated profession.

Girls empowerment camp sign-ups are officially open.

In 2019, 50 kids were given the opportunity to train with Fresno firefighters and female firefighters from around the state.

On top of ladder drills, they did everything from search operations to roof techniques.

The goal was to show that being a firefighter is a job that women can accomplish.

Last year's event was canceled because of the pandemic so this year they're opening 70 slots to kids ages 14 to 18.

"Most people that are successful at it feel very drawn to it and the more we can expose someone when they're young to this, the more it lights that fire and gets them involved in pursuing their goals and start to do the right thing and make the right choices early on at a young age," said Shane Brown with Fresno Fire.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, of the nation's 1.1 million firefighters, less than 94,000 are women.

Locally, in addition to Chief Kerri Donis, there are five female firefighters in the entire Fresno Department.

They hope to boost those numbers by hosting the girls' empowerment events every year.

This year's takes place in November. You can register here.