
More than 50 middle school girls participated in the Henrico County Division of Fire’s inaugural Girls on Fire camp designed to break barriers in firefighting, a field traditionally dominated by men.
From July 26 to 27, the camp welcomed rising sixth, seventh and eighth grade students from central Virginia as they learned the skills needed to save lives, including knot-tying, CPR and search and rescue.

Henrico Fire Lt. Ronny Martin, who oversees recruit training, hoped the camp would challenge the narrative that girls cannot be firefighters and would “plant a seed that they can be.”
“If you look statistically in the fire services, women make up less than 10% in the nation of firefighters,” Martin said. “And we want to increase that number to get young women into the fire service and show that this is a profession that they can be a part of.”
After two days of instruction and exercises, the camp concluded with a relay race, where girls showed off their skills to loved ones. Many of the campers left with a new passion for firefighting.
“Why I came is because my sister was doing this stuff, and I was like, ‘I’ll check it out,’” rising seventh-grader Svey McGee said. “And now, I do want to become a firefighter.”

Three Chopt District Supervisor Misty Whitehead, a U.S. Army veteran who led her platoon during Basic Training, stopped in to praise campers for the opportunity they had to learn more about themselves at a young age.

“When I see programs like this that light a fire very early on, even earlier than that fire was lit under me as a 17-year-old at Basic Training, I’m encouraged because I know that right now, every young person, every girl that has completed this program is a little prouder of yourself,” Whitehead said.
She added, “There’s something a little more in you that says if somebody looks at you and thinks that you can’t do something because you’re a girl and you’re not strong enough, you’re not smart enough or you’re not fast enough, you know for yourself that you are more than anybody thinks that you are.”

Henrico Fire has 677 members, with 641 sworn personnel and 36 civilians. Women account for 40 of the sworn and 23 of the civilian staff. Of the 610 applicants during the division’s 2024 firefighting recruitment period, 72 are women.
Henrico Fire is planning to host another Girls on Fire camp in summer 2025. In the meantime, those interested in Henrico Fire’s youth programs can e-mail [email protected] and follow the division’s Facebook and Instagram for general updates.
