About FlashAlert on Twitter:
FlashAlert utilizes the free service Twitter to distribute emergency text messages. While you are welcome to register your cell phone text message address directly into the FlashAlert system, we recommend that you simply "follow" the FlashAlert account for Portland Fire & Rescue by clicking on the link below and logging in to (or creating) your free Twitter account. Twitter sends messages out exceptionally fast thanks to arrangements they have made with the cell phone companies.
Click here to add Portland Fire & Rescue to your Twitter account or create one.
@pdxfire
Portland City Council Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Portland Metro Fire Camp for Young Women
New video on breaking career gender norms and social media hashtag #shefightsfires released
On Wednesday, April 25 at 10 a.m. in City Council Chambers, Portland City Council will issue a proclamation naming April “Portland Metro Fire Camp for Young Women Month,” in honor of the camp’s upcoming 10th season. The proclamation is being issued before the summer to direct attention to the application process and attract prospective campers to apply. Applications can be found at https://www.portlandoregon.gov/fire/firecamp
Ten years ago, female firefighters at Portland Fire & Rescue came up with a concept of a fire camp that would introduce young women to a career in the fire service. With support from Portland Fire & Rescue, female firefighters independently created and ran the program and recruited other area female firefighters to join in as instructors. The first camp instructed 14 young women and since then has grown to teach almost 40 young women each year. Portland Metro Fire Camp is expanding to meet its growing demand by opening a second session hosted by Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue.
For some, the camp is a general introduction to an interesting field, and for others, it's the start of a career. Kaylee Kolin was a camper in 2013 and was sworn in as a full-time PF&R Firefighter in 2016. "The camp helped me discover that I have a real passion for this job and the hands-on instruction showed me that I have a capacity for it," she says.
Portland Fire & Rescue Chief Mike Myers is a huge supporter of the camp. “Women have the potential to be great firefighters, but many still don’t know that this is a possible career opportunity,” he says. “The camp smartly gives these young women the chance to hold the tools we use and run through training exercises, some of the things that young men might more readily have access to growing up.”
This year for the first time, the camp is holding a second session at a separate location: the training grounds of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. TVF&R Fire Chief Mike Duyck is excited to welcome the camp. “Local female firefighters, including some of TVF&R’s own, have done a great job creating and running this camp,” he says. “We’re glad that we can help support its growth and introduce even more young women to this dynamic and fulfilling career choice.”
To mark its 10th year, Portland Metro Fire Camp hopes to elevate its profile with these outreach items:
- On April 25, April will be declared “Portland Metro Fire Camp Month” by Portland City Council.
- A new video about fire camp has been released. You can view it here: https://vimeo.com/263074434
- Another video, produced by Portland firefighter Liz Thompson, takes on gender norms by inviting women in non-conventional careers (firefighter, construction worker, fighter pilot, and ER doctor) to walk into a first-grade classroom in Portland. You can see this video here: https://vimeo.com/portlandfire/shefightsfires
- Portland Metro Fire Camp is introducing the hashtag #shefightsfires. By sharing images and stories of female firefighters with the hashtag #shefightsfires, young women and girls can visualize themselves in this career.