Girls firefighter camp in Newington inspires future women in the fire service
More than two dozen teenage girls are spending the week in Newington learning what it takes to become a firefighter through a hands-on training camp designed to encourage more young women to enter the profession.
The annual Girls Future Firefighter Camp is being held at Station One of the Newington Volunteer Fire Department. Thirty campers are getting experience with firefighting gear, learning first aid skills and even learning how to identify and investigate arson.
For Zianni Welsh of Windsor, the camp is helping prepare her for the career she hopes to pursue.
“They’re talking about tools or talking about, you know, other ways they go about putting out the fire,” she said.
Welsh said becoming a firefighter would be fulfilling.
“It’s so like rewarding, I would feel, to be able to go out there and, you know, just help people, protect people,” she said.
Hamden Fire Chief Shelly Carter started the camp 11 years ago to give teenage girls a firsthand look at life in the fire service and encourage them to pursue the career.
“We want to just make sure we give everyone an opportunity to have such a great career that I have had,” Carter said.
The campers are spending the week training at the Newington Volunteer Fire Department as they gain practical experience in the field.
The fire service remains a male-dominated profession. According to the National Fire Protection Association, less than 10% of firefighters nationwide are women.
Carter said creating opportunities like this camp can help change that.
“This is an opportunity for us to say, ‘Hey, you can do this too.’ You can help in your community, at your church, in your home,” Carter said.
Carter made history in 2023 by becoming the first Black woman to serve as a fire chief in New England. More recently, she was sworn in as the first woman to lead the Hamden Fire Department.
The camp is attracting participants from beyond Connecticut. Madisyn Bell traveled from Indiana to attend and said the experience has been eye-opening.
“It tells me that women can definitely do it. It’s a male-dominated field now, but later women can definitely start dominating it,” she said.
Welsh said Carter’s example has reinforced her own career goals.
“I see her talking, and I’m like, okay, like, this is my sign,” she said.
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