The Boise Fire Department and Ada County Paramedics hosted a two-day boot camp to give women a taste of what being a fire fighter is all about.
Fire fighting is historically a male dominated profession and the latest number from the National Fire Protection Association shows that 10 percent of firefighters across the country are women.
But those numbers are also inflated because of the number of volunteer fire fighers, women make up just four percent of career fire fighters.
The Boise Fire Department has six female firefighters and they put together a boot camp just for women.
"It is really trying to open those doors and provide a more inclusive environment," said Boise Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer. "We are really targeting women to make sure they understand this is a job they can do too and they can have a life long career as a result of it."
The boot camp started with a grueling workout before moving on to some of the skills required to do the job as a fire fighter like deploying and moving hoses, ventilating buildings, extracting people from vehicles and forced entry into a door.
"This is an opportunity for women who are interested in a career in the fire service to get a taste of what are lives are like, the job that we do and see if it is for them," said Boise Firefighter Kasey Hochmuht who organized the boot camp.
Becoming a fire fighter takes a lot of work and dedication, but the physical requirements to become a fire fighter are the same for both men and women.
"We have to be our own engineers when it comes to figuring out the way that we accomplish tasks because our bodies are different," said Hochmuht.
At the end of boot camp Boise Fire will help the ladies interested in a career in firefighting with the next steps and the application process.
Boise Fire will also host a boot camp just for teenage girls ages 14-17 on July 9.
