WUSA9
ARLINGTON, Va. — Firefighting can be a great career for girls. That’s what the Arlington County Fire Department is showing a few dozen teenage girls this weekend in a hands-on, experience-driven Fire Camp for girls.
It’s an introduction to firefighting only for teenage girls between the ages of 13- and 18-years-old. This weekends’ participants come mostly from Arlington, but also Charles County, Maryland and Pennsylvania. It starts with the same, tough workout real firefighters do. Kaitlyn Matthews from Charles County calls the morning workout “Challenging. That pretty much sums it up.”
Climbing up and down the watch tower stairs looks easy, but it’s a killer. Annie Lowery from Arlington’s Yorktown High School said, “I just climbed six stories. It was brilliant. Stellar. " Lauren Woods from Pennsylvania thought it’d be no problem, but her “legs felt like noodles.” The Arlington County Fire Department puts on the camp to encourage girls to become firefighters. Only seven percent of Arlington Firefighters are women. Nationally, the average is four percent.
Full story: Va. fire department encourages girls to become firefighters