'Representation matters': Camp aims to recruit women to join Edmonton fire service
Women and gender-diverse people got to rappel from a building and extinguish fires this weekend to see what it feels like to be a firefighter — and maybe become one.
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services' Camp Inspire promotes the profession in a "safe, approachable" way with the hope to increase representation within its ranks.
"That's why Camp Inspire is so important, for these other participants to see people that look like them doing this job, doing a physical job and having fun supporting each other in this safe environment," said Daisy vanRavenswaay, a camp coordinator.
VanRavenswaay became a firefighter at age 31 after she was inspired by a female firefighter.
Daisy vanRavenswaay became a firefighter at 31 years old. (CTV News Edmonton)
She told CTV News only 11 of roughly 1,250 local firefighters are women, a number EFRS wants to increase.
"Representation matters," vanRavenswaay said.
Twenty people attended the third edition of the camp. Rappelling from a building at EFRS' Poundmaker Firefighter Training Centre was a "fantastic feeling" for 20-year-old Isabella Calahoo-Zeller.
Other activities included breaching a wall and door, extinguishing vehicle and structure fires, and conducting search and rescues.
Participants rapelled from a building in at Camp Inspire this weekend. (CTV News Edmonton)
Jess Phillips, 28, always wanted to become a firefighter and the three-day camp "completely solidified" any doubts about it.
She has been training for a few months, and like many attendees, plans to apply on Jan. 1.
"The city is showing that people from different backgrounds and diverse backgrounds can do it, and those are the people I really think are going to come in, think differently than everyone has before, challenge status quos, and it's those people that are going to be the new leaders and the next generation of firefighters."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Israel has briefed U.S. on plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of potential Rafah operation
Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.