Camp Ignite was unlike anything that I have ever done in my entire life. What Camp Ignite is, well it’s essentially a firefighting camp for teenage girls. For someone who has a phobia of fire bells, going to that kind of camp is kind of a stretch.

Although, I did it, and there are a few main things I can really point out from this experience is that I really respect firefighters, but not for the reason you would expect. Like, there’s no say the job isn’t really hard and grueling and stuff, but the reason that firefighting is hard is how hot you are in the turnout gear.

At one point during the camp, we put on our full turnout gear (jackets, bella clavas, pants, boots, helmets, gloves) along with SCBAs. We then proceeded to walk around the training institute we were at in 30+ degree weather. We were only wearing that stuff for like, 10 minutes, but it was like we had just gone for a swim.

So. Sweaty.

All in all, the experience was very rewarding and fun. It’s very hard to explain what we did, though. I learned a lot of stuff about firefighters and first responders in general. I think learning about emergencies might help me become a little bit less afraid of them.

For more on Camp Ignite, check out these blog posts.