Young women get a taste of a firefighting career at annual Oregon camp

Portland Fire & Rescue kicked off the 15th annual Portland Metro Fire Camp at its training facility on Friday in Northeast Portland. The camp, the first of two offered by Portland Fire & Rescue, is aimed at young women ages 16-22 years old, with the goal of introducing more women into the mostly male field of firefighting.

During the three-day camp, 47 campers will receive training in skills such as search and rescue, hose handling, chainsaw use, aerial ladder climbing and more.

“We went through the fires in 2020 and I realized if the fire went down in the canyon and came into our area, we could’ve lost the majority of our town,” said Abbey Tallent, a 17-year-old camper from Silverton, Oregon. “I would love to be a volunteer firefighter up in Silverton to help my community.”

Katie Linton has been a camp counselor for the fire camp for 10 years. “Seeing the difference from the day one — some of them are a little overwhelmed and not sure about getting in there — to the last day of camp where all of a sudden they’re grabbing tools, they’re going for it and their confidence is up,” she said.

The camp staff is made up entirely of female firefighters. Hearing from female firefighters directly is a key part of the program, in addition to the hands-on experience. Firefighting is still a predominantly male-dominated field, and camp organizers hope that taking part in the PF&R camps will help more women enter the industry.