Yukon holds training camp to recruit more female firefighters

The Yukon Fire Marshal's office wrapped up its first camp for female firefighters Friday.

Ciara Adams, the first woman to be hired as a professional firefighter with the City of Whitehorse, was one of the people helping with the training. She says the fire marshal wants to recruit more women and this camp will help do that.

"We've just thrown a ton of information and skills at them and they are doing awesome and are super interested and enthused," she said.

"I think there is some potential for some of the girls to at least for sure to go into the the volunteer departments, if not career."

Other instructors at the camp included a female fire chief from B.C. and a female volunteer fire chief from Yukon.

Going over the edge of a cliff or into the flames is not the easiest thing, but the 10 women said finding out they can all do these things — and more — may be the most important lesson they learned.

"Until you get into that smoke and really see the flames and feel the heat … then you really understand, and it sort of solidifies all of the training that we had done prior to that," said Katrina Wolfharth.