Eighteen teenage girls graduated from the County of Brant Fire Department’s fourth annual Camp Phoenix program on Saturday, July 27, 2025.
The free interactive day camp originally started back in 2022 as a way to give young women 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.
Campers received hands-on training through a series of evolutions that were designed to simulate real-life scenarios including fire prevention and suppression, basic first-aid, search and rescue, auto extrication and more.
“It’s really a five-day boot camp where we take them through everything from live fire demos to investigation,” said Lisa Herbert, Camp Phoenix president. “They get to pull hose, tear apart cars, force doors, and this year they got to do a rope rescue evolution too. There’s also a day where we have EMS and OPP come out, but we really try to give them as much of a taste of the firefighting as we can.”
The girls also had a chance to learn even more skills from several guest speakers throughout their four days of training.
Participants not only got to see what the job physically requires, but it gave them something to keep in mind while they’re still in high school and are making decisions about their post-secondary path.
“It really exposes them to what it means to be a firefighter, what the work is like and what teamwork is like,” continued Herbert. “It’s great because I’ve actually heard a lot of the campers this week say things like, ‘I understand what you all do now and how important the camaraderie is.’”
On day one, campers were split into four platoons before going off to learn about personal protective equipment, self-contained breathing apparatuses and ladders.
“Every day starts with a morning workout and roll call,” said Herbert. “During a typical day, they’ll cycle through four evolutions. We’ll do two in the morning and two in the afternoon, and then we usually have guest speakers come over for some of the lunches, and we use that as an opportunity to introduce the girls to other careers that are adjacent to the fire service too.”
On graduation day, campers had the chance to show off and demonstrate their new skills to their loved ones in the morning, before squaring up against fellow campers for the Phoenix Fit Challenge.
“Today they had to deploy a hydraulic length of hose, make all their connections, add the nozzle and hit a target before forcing a door,” said Herbert. “After forcing the door in the ‘house,’ they had to follow the hose through a series of obstacles before they were able to take off their packs and do a good old fashioned bucket brigade. To top it all off, they capped it off by pulling the fire truck over the finish line.”
The Camp Phoenix president said that final day was ultimately her favourite.
“Everything that they’ve been practicing and learning all week, they get to put it to the test and it really comes to a head,” said Herbert. “Those emotions they experience today, the feelings, the breakthroughs… we’re still seeing transformation in them today and it’s just a big celebration. I love that the house is full of family and friends today and so this is the part I really love.”
During the graduation ceremony, Deanna Kirwin, academic manager from the Office of the Fire Marshal, was also there as the keynote speaker.
Throughout her talk, Kirwin shared her own experiences as a female pursuing a career in fire fighting and what she’s learned along the way.
“Visibility matters because seeds don’t grow in the dark, and because sometimes all someone needs is to hear are the words, ‘I see you in this role,” said Kirwin. ‘That’s how we change the future of the fire service, not just by being in a room, but by inviting others in.”
The department also announced their top fundraisers by individual and by team, as the girls hosted a fitness fundraiser prior to starting camp, and later handed out their girls’ certificates of completion.
After four years, Camp Phoenix now boasts a total of 78 alumni.
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.
