Madison Clark was discovering that her goal of becoming a dentist (and the cost that came with it) was not what she wanted when an encounter changed her career path. She ran into a former co-worker and his wife—she a firefighter and he a nurse.

“She told me about the career and what it was all about and I did a ride along and my life has changed,” said Clark, who has been a firefighter-paramedic with the Long Beach Fire Department for almost four years.

On Sunday, Clark and her peers spent a day at the David Rosa Regional Training Center in East Long Beach where they spread a similar message to girls from throughout Southern California about a career that has since become her life.

Firefighter-paramedic Madison Clark (left) poses questions to Girls Fire Camp participants during the prize giveaway portion of the event on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019. Photo by Stephanie Rivera.

The Girls Fire Camp was the first of its kind put on by the LBFD. It’s part of an effort to boost recruitment of female firefighters. The department is trying to diversify its workforce to better reflect the community, and one of the major gaps is how few women are working at the department.

A city report released this summer revealed that of LBFD’s 389 firefighters, only 15 are women of any race.

“We know we can serve our community better when we are more diverse,” said Jason Hosea, the fire department’s diversity recruitment and partnerships manager, who organized the camp.

Hosea’s position itself is part of the fire department’s efforts to recruit a diverse workforce. Using Measure A and other funding, his position was budgeted for since before the report was released, noted LBFD spokesman Jake Heflin. Hosea began his post in August.

Jason Hosea, diversity recruitment and partnerships manager, speaks to the inaugural class of Girls Fire Camp participants at the David Rosa Regional Training Center in Long Beach on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019. Photo by Stephanie Rivera.

“We’re really trying to get caught up to where we should’ve been years ago; we just didn’t have the funding to do so,” Heflin said.

Hosea said that through initiatives like the Girls Fire Camp the department hopes to “show these young women that there’s a career for them in the fire service.”

During the day-long program, which mirrored ones done by other departments in the region, 40 girls ages 14 to 18 took part in five different exercises.

They learned CPR and the types of chainsaws and personal protective equipment firefighters use. They squirted water at objects with a fire hose, put out a live fire with an extinguisher and climbed ladders.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5066vzBjyi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“We wanted to make it challenging for them. We wanted to make it exciting for them so we picked skills that would be kind of part of a firefighter’s day,” Hosea said.

Wilson High School sophomore Cassidy Davis said she never seriously thought about a career in the fire service until going through the camp, which her campus security officer recommended to her because of her personality.

“As time goes on, you start figuring out who you are as a person and where you want to go in life and I found out that I want to do marine biology but coming in today actually made me realize that being a firefighter is a major thing that I’d be completely interested in because of how many different options you have and different ways to go on about it,” the 16-year-old said.

Gidgett Lovingood, Yina Marin and Cassidy Davis pose with their certificates after completing the inaugural Girls Fire Camp at the Captain David Rosa Regional Training Center in Long Beach on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019. Photo by Stephanie Rivera.

Davis’ favorite part of the day was knocking down cones with the water hoses. Not only was it fun but as an athlete (she plays basketball) Davis said she loves pushing herself and learning new strengths.

“I tend to work better under pressure,” Davis said. “It seems like it would be interesting and I want to see where it takes me. I want to see if I have what it takes to make it.”

The next Girls Fire Camp is expected to take place in spring 2020. For more information click here.

Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @StephRivera88.