Marley Cormier and Sophie Scott, Grade 10 students from Seaton Secondary, operate a fire hose at the annual Female Firefighter for a Day event (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

hands-on experience

High school girls learn the ropes of firefighting

Apr 26, 2023 | 4:31 PM

Ten female high school students got to learn what it takes to be a firefighter.

Vernon Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) held its second annual Female Firefighter for a Day event Wednesday, Apr. 26.

Led by VFRS Lieutenant Allyson Reich, the day-long event allowed the ten Grade 10 students from School District 22 to learn the technical aspects of firefighting and the many roles and personnel involved in operations, before going off and getting some practical, hands on experience.

“This morning we had some time with our administration to let them know what those jobs look like. I’ve told them about the education path you need to follow to get into it, and as well all the different kinds of jobs within the fire service. So firefighting is one aspect, dispatching is another, fire administration is another. Even as an officer you can certainly work your way through the ranks,” Reich said.

“This afternoon I’m familiarizing them with some of the equipment that we’re using. One of them is the ladder truck, so I’ve been able to put them in a harness, in all of the turnout [firefighting] gear, put them into the ladder [bucket] and put it up to it’s full height, which is 110 feet.

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“I think kind of the more fun part is getting to sit in the fire truck, drive them around the station. They’re putting on their SCBA [self-contained breathing apparatus], their air pack, and then they are advancing a hose and calling for water and shooting water at a target.”

Seaton Secondary students Sophie Scott and Marley Cormier, assisted by firefighter Chris Jmaiff, use a hose at the annual Female Firefighter for a Day event (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Grade 10 students participating in the Female Firefighter for a Day event unload a hose from a Vernon Fire Rescue Services fire engine (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Seaton Secondary students Lizzy Wright and Ivy Jensen taking a ride up the ladder truck with firefighter Dan Nadeau (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Some students ride the entire 100 feet up in the air on the ladder truck while others operate the fire hose at the annual Female Fiefighter for a Day event (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Lt. Allyson Reich and firefighter Dan Nadeau with some of the participants of the Female Firefighter for a Day event, Lena Neden, Ivy Jensen, Lizzie Wright, Sophie Scott, Lexa Meier and Marley Cormier (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

She said the practical side gives the girls a realistic impression of what it means to be a firefighter, including how heavy the roughly 30 to 40 lbs. of clothing and 30 to 40 lbs. air-tank feels when rushing to extinguish a fire.

Reich is the sole female firefighter in VFRS, and though there is one woman working on the administration side, she said females in the fire service are very under-represented, and this event allowed the girls to learn there is a possible career for them in this field.

“Anyway that we can open the exposure to other young women, just to let them know what’s possible,” Reich explained.

“I’ve heard the little saying that ‘You can’t be what you can’t see,’ so the whole purpose of today was: this is what you can be, I want to show you what you can be, if you want it.”

Reich added a stat she told the girls during the event was that, of the 4,300 professional firefighters in B.C. only 175 are female.

One of the participating students was from Vernon Secondary School and the remaining nine were from Seaton Secondary. The total of 10 students was similar to the number of participants at the inaugural event last spring, which Reich said was on purpose.

“I like to try and keep it small just because there’s so much information that I want to give them,” Reich told Vernon Matters.

“If we end up getting more students that really want to [participate] and we need to increase the numbers, maybe over time we’ll like to eventually do two, like a spring and a fall kind of thing. But, you know, start small and do it well and maybe, hopefully it can start to grow.”

Reich has been a professional firefighter for 18 years, all of which were spent at VFRS.

“I wanted a job where I would always be challenged, I wanted a job that I could help people, and I wanted something where I could help to make a difference,” Reich explained.

“I think today is a bit of a culmination of all of that. I love being part of the community, love being part of our fire department, and if I can help to inspire someone else to follow their passions, then I’ve done the job.”

One of the students Reich was helping to inspire was Ivy Jensen, a Grade 10 student from Seaton Secondary who was participating in the Firefighter for a Day event.

“It’s super interesting getting to see Lt. Reich because I have a few family and friends who are firefighters and not one of them are female so it’s great to see a role model like that,” Jensen said, adding she has family friends who are firefighters and also has aunts, uncles and cousins who are RCMP members.

“I definitely wanted to be a firefighter before coming here, but now getting a little taste of the experience definitely made me more eager to start.”

She also stated this experience taught her it’s possible to be a female firefighter.

“For a while I didn’t know that a lot of females could do firefighting. I thought it was mostly just EMS, so when I found out you could do firefighting as a female, I was extremely excited. Now getting to have a role model like Lt. Reich in my life and getting to learn from her is pretty exciting.”

Reich added two of the students who participated in the event last year are now pursuing careers in firefighting, and she hopes this year’s events will yield similar results.

Being the sole female firefighter at VFRS, Reich noted there is a perception of an ‘old boys club’ within fire services, but she says that hasn’t been the case for her. Reich said her colleagues are professional and the “old image of hazing and all of that” has not been her experience, adding five of her male colleagues came out and were giving up their free time to assist with Wednesday’s event.

However, Reich did note women do have some challenges in the firefighting field.

“I think you always have to prove yourself. I know I’ve had some interesting experiences even as an officer when members of the public were talking to my male counterparts, but I’m the one in charge,” Reich said.

“It just takes time, and things are changing and it’s wonderful to be part of the change. It’s been wonderful to change with the department, not just our department, but the service in general, and it’s come so far and it’s always got room to grow as well.”

Reich told Vernon Matters she did speak with the girls a bit about the challenges women face in a firefighting career, but not too much.

“I touched on it. I don’t want to paint it super negative but I also want to be realistic. Just to know that it’s there, to understand the signs, and the fact that we’re now living in a super inclusive world where maybe those products of the past, they’re just not acceptable anymore, which is great because it now just makes a healthier workplace for everybody involved.”