A Parksville teen has been sponsored by the Parksville Fire Department to participate in Island Ignite summer camp this year.
The camp, which takes place from July 11 to July 13 in Victoria, exposes young women to a career in firefighting and is run by current female firefighters in the fire service.
Makayla Boulet is excited to have been sponsored to go to Island Ignite.
She has had an interest in firefighting since she saw the Qualicum Beach fire camp and attended open houses.
“It just sparked something in me to pursue firefighting,” Boulet said.
Boulet is most excited for the auto extrication part of the camp, where the teens learn how to remove parts of a car to safely rescue a person trapped inside.
Throughout her life, she has pursued fields which are predominantly male-centred.
“I used to play hockey and it is more male dominated... women and men have different views and (these views) can tie together,” she said.
Boulet will attend Vancouver Island University in the fall and hopes to eventually pursue athletic therapy.
Parksville Fire Chief Mark Norris hopes Boulet will choose a career in firefighting.
“It is always nice to meet young people who are keen and focused like Makayla," he said. “We’d be very lucky to have her as a member down the road, even if she has a different career, but decides to volunteer her time as an on-call firefighter."
Norris has noticed an increase in women choosing firefighting as a career since he began more than 30 years ago.
“When I joined, there were women present in the fire service here in Parksville already, but that was rarer at the time. (Since then) I’ve noticed there are more women involved which leads to a more well-rounded team of firefighters,” Norris said.
Norris thinks camps like Island Ignite will encourage women to join the firefighting service by seeing themselves represented.
“It is exciting that we have this camp that women can get involved in ... (and) to encourage women that it is a job they can do,” he said. “At the end of the day, it is making sure women understand this is a job that is available to them."
