Sixteen teenage girls received a crash course in firefighting during the Blandford-Blenheim Fire Service’s fourth annual Camp 85 program, which was held from Tuesday, July 7 to Saturday, July 11, 2026.
The free, interactive day camp originally started back in 2023 as a way to give youth between the ages of 14 and 18 the opportunity to gain skills associated with firefighting, and to learn more about what it takes to pursue a career in the field.
While the first two years of the program were just for young women, the department later decided to offer it to the young men of the township as well. The camp now alternates each year between the boys and girls, allowing them equal opportunities to gain hands-on experience.
“We rotate it back and forth so that everyone in the Blandford-Blenheim community and surrounding area will hopefully now get an opportunity to come through the camp,” said Chief Drew Davidson, Director of Protective Services.
At the start of the program, campers were split into four platoons of four, and began each day with a morning workout to warm up before moving onto their training evolutions.
Throughout the week, participants spent a day at each of the Township’s four fire departments including Princeton Fire Station #1, Drumbo Fire Station #82, Plattsville Fire Station #83 and Bright Fire Station #84, learning something new from each location.
“We started in Plattsville with water streams and fire suppression, where they got to use hoses and fire extinguishers. The second day was in Bright to learn forcible entry, so they got to climb ladders, and cut holes in a roof, and OPP and EMS joined us that day too,” said Davidson. “Thursday was in Drumbo for Auto Extrication, and that’s where they used the Jaws of Life to cut apart cars and learn how that all operates. On Friday, we were here in Princeton for search and rescue with the air packs, so they got to smash through walls and break down some drywall, and just have a great time.”
After four days, the campers had the opportunity to show off a bit of what they learned to their families with an obstacle course, and officially graduated from the program.
“It was just fantastic to see them and to see the support from the families here today,” said Davidson. “The girls also did a little tribute for us, and that just means the world to us.”
Davidson said that one of his favourite parts of the camp is getting to see how quickly the participants improve each day.
“It’s standing here, thinking about how shy and nervous they were on day one, and looking at them today and seeing how far they’ve come in just four days,” he said. “It’s incredible how they’ve come together with smiles and laughter, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Participants Lauren Cann and Mackenzie Cornish, both 14, said they had a lot of fun throughout the week. While it was hard to pick, some of their favourite activities included crawling through the wire trap, climbing ladders, the wall breach, window entry, and piecing together everything they learned at the end of the day with different games.
The two agreed that the experience showed them they were capable of doing things they didn’t think they could do.
“The other day we did the dummy drag, it was 150 pounds and our platoon leader was strapped to it. I think he said in total, it was about 355 pounds and we pulled it,” said Cann. “If you told me yesterday morning that I would have been able to do that, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
Cornish added, “You have a lot more strength than you know, and sometimes, it takes something like this camp to bring it out of you. Or when they told us we were going to climb a ladder; you’re initially thinking, ‘you can’t make me do that,’ but you do it anyway even if you’re scared, and you realize you can really do it.”
Anna Follings and Claire Gauvin, who participated in Camp 85 during its inaugural run and who hope to become firefighters in the future, shared similar sentiments.
“It was really inspiring to see what I could push myself to do,” said Follings. “And the people here are amazing, getting to hang out with and form a connection with all the instructors was really cool. It’s like having another family.”
Gauvins added, ”This camp gives you the chance to do things you don’t get to do all the time. When else would you get to rip apart a car or smash down some doors? You may not end up picking fire as a career, but this gives you the opportunity to find out what you can do.”
Having come back as volunteers, Gauvin and Follings said it was nice to watch the campers grow throughout the week.
“The amazing thing is that, some of them start off in their shell, but by the end of the week, they’re getting in there and willing to try it,” said Gauvin. “It’s just awesome to watch them and see them cheer each other on.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
