CONCORD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 27: Camp participant Reese Raven Barles, 17, climbs up to ladder to a second-story building during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. About 25 girls from grades 9-12 from the Northern California region attended the two-day event which was hosted by the the NorCal Women in the Fire Service. Student participants received training in power tools, hose handling, ladders, use of fire extinguishers, donning and removal of personal protective equipment, using a self-contained breathing apparatus, physical fitness, climbing an aerial truck ladder and practice hands-only CPR. The instructors were all professional female firefighters from throughout Northern California. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Concord center hosted about 25 high school aged girls for two-day NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp led by local professional female firefighters
Reese Raven Barles, 17, went because she wants to work in the medical field someday.
Alexis Hayes, 16, wants to pursue firefighting to keep helping people — something she has throughout her life.
The two were among about 25 female high school students attending the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp, which took place over the weekend at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord. A team of female firefighters instructed the two-day training session, which was hosted by NorCal Women in the Fire Service.
Students like Barles and Hayes climbed ladders — including an aerial truck ladder — handled hoses, donned and removed personal protective equipment, operated fire extinguishers, practiced hands-only CPR, used a self-contained breathing apparatus, and operated saws and other power tools.
“I’m surrounded by very empowering women and just being around them empowers me, too, as a youth and female in the community,” Barles said, noting the fun and value in the novel, hands-on experience she gained. “You don’t climb a ladder every single day.”
To Hayes, the camp’s femininity was a big deal: “We’re mostly female, and it’s a male-dominant career.”
Her favorite part was a confidence course training where she built self-trust by navigating without being able to see where she was going in the dark, smoky spaces. “It was just different.”
NorCal Women in the Fire Service, which is run by several female firefighters from Alameda County Fire Department and others in Daly City, Fremont, Oakland and Santa Clara, has organized at least four camps to educate future and current firefighters and create a network to support and mentor them. Two other camps held last year were hosted at the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department’s training site.
Camp participant Zoey Haines, 17, attempts to extinguish a fire under the watchful eye of Santa Clara firefighter/EMT Jillian deBar during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participants receive instructions before climbing a ladder to a second-story balcony during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participant Reese Raven Barles, 17, gives a big thumbs up after climbing to the top of a second-story building during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participant Kristiana Zaste, 15, climbs to the top of a four-story building during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participant Reese Raven Barles, 17, controls the front of the hose while practicing hose handling with her classmates during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. About 25 girls from grades 9-12 from the Northern California region attended the two-day event which was hosted by the the NorCal Women in the Fire Service. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participant do a loud cheer after participating in the fire extinguisher station during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. About 25 girls from grades 9-12 from the Northern California region attended the two-day event which was hosted by the the NorCal Women in the Fire Service. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participant approach low to the ground as they attempt to extinguish a small fire during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participant Zoey Haines, 17, is blindfolded to simulate smoke as she uses her hands to move from room to room in a house structure during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) CONCORD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 27: Camp participants and their instructors gather for a group photo before lunch break during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. About 25 girls from grades 9-12 from the Northern California region attended the two-day event which was hosted by the the NorCal Women in the Fire Service.(Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participant Zoey Haines, 17, is blindfolded to simulate smoke as she uses her hands to move from room to room while under the watchful eye of Sacramento firefighter captain Erika Enslin during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco Fire Department Lt. Julie DeJarlais, right, speaks to camp participants during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) A painting of television comedy actor Michael Richards portraying Kramer from Seinfeld adorns the fireplace inside a training structure during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participant Lulu Mazur, 17, thanks an instructor after her training during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participant Reese Raven Barles, 17, receives instruction from Oakland Fire Department Lt. Nicole McCall while practicing firehose handling during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Camp participant stand together while listening to instructions before climbing up a second-story building during the NorCal First Alarm Girls Fire Camp held at the Contra Costa County Fire Training Center in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. About 25 girls from grades 9-12 from the Northern California region attended the two-day event which was hosted by the the NorCal Women in the Fire Service. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
