Cooperative Living March 2023 - 12

COOPERATIVEFOCUS
" Growing up, had Fire &
EMS not been a huge
part of my family, I may
have never known about
the profession being
an option. "
- Kayla Jones, Botetourt
Fire & EMS
Where There's Smok●
There's Opportunity
Story courtesy of Cardinal News Staff
Girls' Fire Camp encourages female firefighter recruitment
W
hen Melanie Wimmer of
Salem, Va., asked her
daughter if she wanted to
take part in the Girls' Fire Camp last
summer in Botetourt County, 10-yearold
Mia told her mom she didn't realize
that women could be firefighters.
She soon learned firsthand that they
certainly can.
Mia was excited to participate in
the camp and learned more about what
her 27-year-old brother does as a career
firefighter and emergency medical
technician for Botetourt Fire & EMS.
She also learned that she, too, could do
th
too,
the job.
" It's something different and it's a
program to let these ladies know that
you can be a firefighter, you can be a
paramedic, " says Wimmer about the
Girls' Fire Camp.
Botetourt is planning to hold the
Girls' Fiire Camp again this year at Lord
re Cam agai
10 ● Cooperative Living ●
this
at
Botetourt High School in Daleville
March 2023
rd
to inform kids, especially young girls,
about the option of a future career in
fire rescue, and possibly to get parents
interested in volunteering or becoming
career employees.
It's part of the agency's efforts to
address the challenges of recruiting and
retention that many departments in
Virginia and across the U.S. are currently
facing, especially when it comes to
attracting women to the historically
male-dominated profession.
Th
The fire camp idea was so popular in
id
l
its first year that all the initial spots were
filled within 24 hours after registration
began. Organizers originally planned
to have 50 openings but expanded it to
58. Another 45 girls, unfortunately,
remained on a waiting list.
ON FIRE
This year's event is scheduled for June
24 and registration opens April 3. The
camp will be open to upcoming first
through tenth graders this year, and just
like last year, it is free to attend. " Spots
will be limited, and we expect tickets to
go quickly, " says Taylor Lunsford,
recruitment and retention specialist for
Botetourt Fire & EMS. " Information
will be posted at botetourtfireems.org
and on our social media closer to
registration. "
Lunsford says a $5,000 grant from
regiistration. "
i
the International Association ofFire
Chiefs VolunteerWorkforce Solutions
makes the annual one-day event possible.
" We are looking forward to continuing
to provide interactive education and
showingmore girls that the fire &EMS
field is for them too, " she says.
The first halfofthe one-day program
is generally focused on fire safety in the
home, and the science ofhow fires
co-opliving.com
PHOTOS COURTESY BOTETOURT COUNTY
http://www.botetourtfireems.org http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living March 2023

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