Girls Empowerment Camp

The aerial ladder climb is a childhood dream come true! And it’s one of the campers biggest accomplishments over the weekend. Not everyone can say they’ve climbed an aerial ladder to the top of a 4 story building

Photo from 2019 GEC. Pictures are worth 1000 words...and then some. This camper is met with a smile and high five by one of our instructors as she is lowered out of a 2nd story window with a rope system. And the smile on the camper can’t be denied either

Video from 2019 GEC. Firefighting is an amazing and rewarding career but it does come with some major risks. campers will go through some of the same firefighter survival training that is utilized to save a down or trapped firefighter. Here, campers are learning how to work their way through wire entanglement to get out of a building.

***This video is from the 2019 GEC. Did you know our campers will walk away from the weekend certified in hands only CPR?! The most important aspect in saving someone’s life?! Yep! CERTIFIED!!!!

Just added to the GEC arsenal! Utilizing our very own SCBAs, we will be using these sprayers to disinfect every station and piece of equipment after every evolution. Massive shoutout and thanks to @bracky1976 and @sdfd_batt3 for the donation!!!! Thank you for your overwhelming support

Campers will have an awesome presentation from our very own SDFD Fire Engineer @joezakar and his search dog Dora. Dora was picked up as a stray by Sacramento County animal care and regulations in the fall of 2016. Their shelter staff - who are very knowledgeable about SDFD and our training program - quickly noticed how ball crazy Dora was, so they immediately called us to evaluate her as a potential candidate. A natural at Search and Rescue, Dora was paired with SDFD Fire Engineer Joe Zakar, San Diego Urban Search & Rescue - California Task Force 8.

Behind any amazing movement is a group of amazing ladies! These ladies are LITERALLY working 6+ months, sometimes 10 hours a day, multiple days a week before the @girlsempowermentcamp starts to make it alllllll come together. Because of what these ladies are doing, multiple other fire agencies have begun the process of creating their very own GEC. If you see these ladies during the weekend (although they aren’t looking for praise) give them a hug, a thank you, a pat on the back, something to give them thanks.

Registration opened this morning and we are almost 80% full! We will most likely be filled by this time tomorrow. Click on the registration link in bio and grab one of the last spots!

REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Register NOW st https://sdfirerescue.org/gec/

2020 SDFD Girls Empowerment Camp registration opens tomorrow morning at 8:00 am on this website. https://sdfirerescue.org/gec/. Teens aged 14-18 can apply. There are only 120 spots. They filled up in 36 hours last year!

Not only do these campers walk away with a new found confidence, they also walk away with a whole new ground of friends.

Campers will learn and participate in FGS (fire ground survival). Techniques firefighters practice in case they are trapped or unable to escape from a dangerous environment.

Members of the GEC Command Staff went on KUSI, Fox, and the radio yesterday promoting the April 4 & 5 camp! Registration open March 1 at 0800 hours so be ready! This camp will fill up in a day. Here’s the link to the KUSI interview. https://www.kusi.com/san-diego-fire-department-girls-empow/

Whats most rewarding about the #GEC? It’s watching these campers come into the weekend not knowing anyone and leaving the weekend with a whole new group of friends and proving to themselves that they are more capable in their abilities than they ever knew. Looking forward to seeing these smiles again at the end of our event.

Every camper will walk away from this awesome weekend certified in hands only CPR. Giving each of them the knowledge and confidence to save the life of a loved one or a stranger.

Campers this year will have the opportunity to learn about fire behavior and fire safety during one of our controlled burns. Always a favorite with the instructors and campers.

Every camper who attends the GEC learns something new about themselves over the weekend. Our ladder climb evolution is intimidating for sure, but every camper who has had reservations on climbing this ladder to the roof of a 3 story building had nothing but a massive smile on their face when they got off the ladder. They know now that they are stronger than they think and are ready for the next evolution. @sdfdofficial

One of our most popular rotations of the weekend is having the campers cut with a chainsaw! Not only will these campers learn what it takes to become a firefighter, but they will also learn hands on skills most adults will never experience in their lives. We are here to inspire these campers to do great things @sdfdofficial