Two local firefighters recently participates at events in Washington state and California designed to mentor and encourage young women in the fire service.

Anaka Hughes, volunteer training coordinator for Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue as well as a volunteer firefighter/EMT with Clallam County Fire District 3, and Samantha Harik, a volunteer firefighter/EMT with the Port Angeles Fire Department, participated in both Camp Blaze in Washington State and the NorCal Women in the Fire Service event in California.

Camp Blaze is hosted at the Washington State Fire Training Center in North Bend. It is a seven-day event held every two years “with a vision to empower, inspire and support strong women leaders in the fire service “and was held July 30- Aug. 6, according to Jake Patterson, Fire Chief of Clallam 2 Fire Rescue.

The leadership camp provides an opportunity for women in the fire service to share their experiences and passion for the profession with young women, ages 16-19 who are exploring careers in the service.

Harik and Hughes participated as mentors for the 24 young women attending the camp and lead them through several team building exercises and training scenarios. Hughes had previously participated as a mentor in 2018 and this was Harik’s first opportunity to participate, Patterson noted.

The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The young women at Camp Blaze get to experience all aspects of modern firefighting from fire behavior and classroom lessons to hands on live-fire drills. They get the opportunity to work from ladders and ropes, practice hose movements, using self-contained breathing apparatus, team building, basic first aid, search and rescue, interviewing skills, and other activities.

Both local firefighters were invited to participate in a two-day event sponsored by the NorCal Women in the Fire Service held Sept. 16-17 in Oakland, Calif. NorCal Women in the Fire Service has two main goals, local firefighters noted: The first is to introduce young women to non-traditional careers, such as the Fire Service, and second, to support current women within the fire service and their careers.

There were 60 young women and non-binary individuals of ages 13-17 who participated in the two-day camp, organizers noted. Their training included CPR/Stop the Bleed, vehicle extrication, aerial ladder climb, ladders, fire extinguishers, hose handling, small tools, search and rescue, forcible entry and use of chainsaws.