Camp Molly
Victoria Boltsis CFAA Technician, Ignis Technical Solutions
What is Camp Molly?
Camp Molly is an exciting four-day experience designed for self-identifying females and nonbinary youth aged 15 to 18, offering them a chance to explore a career in the Fire Service.
The camp is named in honor of Molly Williams, the first recorded Black female firefighter in North America. Molly Williams was enslaved in New York and, during a cholera outbreak at the Fire Hall where she worked as a cook, stepped up alongside other firefighters. She helped pull the pumper through snow during a blizzard in 1818, demonstrating incredible strength and courage. Molly Williams was a true trailblazer, proving that women are capable of anything.
The inaugural Camp Molly took place in 2019, founded by Fire Chief Monique Belair of Kingston. Chief Belair, who serves as the camp’s President, aimed to inspire the next generation, showing them that they can achieve their dreams and pursue a rewarding career in the Fire Service—an industry that remains predominantly male. Currently, women represent only 2% of Canada's Fire Service workforce. Through Camp Molly, we seek to demonstrate that the Fire Service is a viable career for everyone, regardless of gender.
Camp Molly offers young participants the opportunity to meet and interact with strong female role models from their community during the four-day camp. To eliminate financial barriers, the camp is free for all attendees, relying entirely on donations and sponsorships from the communities that host it. The camp would not be possible without the generous support of local volunteers and the broader community.
Each camp session accommodates up to 35 participants, who are divided into platoons to work together over the four days. The campers are outfitted with full firefighting gear, including jackets, pants, boots, helmets, and gloves—all the essential equipment used by firefighters daily. Camp Molly provides more than just a glimpse into firefighting; it introduces campers to the broader Fire Service field, including Fire Investigations, Medical Response, and Fire Prevention.
Throughout the camp, participants engage in various hands-on experiences known as "evolutions," which reflect the diverse training that firefighters undergo. These evolutions include Hydrants & Hoses, Auto Extrication, Firefighter Survival & Forcible Entry, Search & Rescue, Ladders, Medical Response, Fire Investigations, Fire Apparatus Mechanics, Communications, and Fire Prevention & Public Education.
Each "evolution" at Camp Molly gives the campers 90 minutes to learn and engage with the instructors. After receiving an overview of the evolution and understanding what's expected, the campers get hands-on experience, applying what they've learned with the guidance of their team leader and instructor. On the final day of Camp Molly, the platoons participate in a "Combat Challenge," which is similar to a firefighter obstacle course. This challenge incorporates the skills they’ve developed throughout the camp, and the teams compete against one another for the fastest time. It's inspiring to watch the campers work together, support each other, and cheer on their teammates during this challenge.
I’ve had the privilege of attending several Camp Molly events since 2022, where I’ve played an integral role in the Fire Prevention and Public Education evolution. Over time, we’ve adapted this evolution to better suit the age group attending the camp.
One of our key discussions focuses on the importance of having working smoke alarms in homes. It's often surprising how many campers mention that their parents have never tested the alarms or changed the batteries. This provides an excellent opportunity to educate the campers about the importance of fire safety and public education. At the end of the day, we give them a homework assignment: go home, check their smoke alarms, ensure they’re up-to-date, and test them. This is just one of the life skills they learn during the Public Education portion of the camp.
I, too, have been learning throughout these camps. Over time, we noticed that sitting through a 90-minute PowerPoint presentation was too much for the campers, and we would begin to lose their attention. To address this, I started incorporating an interactive activity in the middle of the presentation to engage the campers and get them moving. In 2022, at a Camp Molly event hosted in Vaughan, the training center provided a mobile fire alarm panel. This allowed us to demonstrate how fire alarm systems work and gave the campers the chance to activate and reset a manual pull station. After activation, I showed the campers how the device would register on the fire alarm panel and walked them through acknowledging and resetting the system.
Since that Vaughan camp, our team discussed the value of having a fire alarm system for the remainder of the camps. With the generous support of FireLite by Honeywell, a traveling fire alarm panel was donated to Camp Molly. The panel is equipped with a manual station, a smoke detector, a strobe, a horn/strobe, and a remote annunciator. So far, this panel has been featured at two 2024 camps, and it has been extremely well received by the campers.
During this portion of the evolution, we discuss the basics of a fire alarm system—what it is, why it's important, where manual stations are located, and what other devices may be connected to the system. Each camper gets the chance to activate the pull station, read the fire panel’s description, and examine the annunciator. After everyone has had a turn, we talk about sprinkler heads and how they are activated. The quick answer from about 90% of campers is always "smoke." When we explain that sprinklers are actually heat-activated devices, I ask, "If one goes off, will all of them go off in the room?" Almost everyone answers "yes." This gives us the chance to debunk Hollywood myths—that’s not how sprinklers work. We explain that each sprinkler head activates only when triggered by heat in its specific location. This part of the session provides many key takeaways for the campers!
Being able to volunteer and participate in a camp that opens the minds of self-identifying females and nonbinary youth, giving them confidence and showing them that they can achieve anything they set their minds to, is an amazing experience. Watching these campers arrive on the first day—timid and unsure—and then meeting their new teammates, seeing them evolve and grow over the four days, is truly inspiring. As the camp progresses, you can see the campers become more comfortable with one another, working together as a team. By the end of the camp, the energy is so high, and the campers are so excited that it feels like they’ve known each other far longer than four days.
Not every camper attends because they envision becoming a firefighter. This camp gives them the opportunity to explore what it’s like and to discover the many other facets of the Fire Service and the Fire Industry that often go unnoticed unless you know someone in the field. Some campers, after experiencing Fire Investigations with the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office, decide they might want to become a Fire Investigator. Others, after the Fire Prevention and Public Education session, consider careers as Fire Alarm Technicians or Prevention Officers. That’s the door Camp Molly is proud to help open.
Camp Molly’s mission statement—“Be Prepared to Be Challenged. Be Prepared to Be Empowered. Be Prepared to Change the Way You See Yourself.”—is fully realized by the end of the camp. When the campers are presented with their certificates and awards at graduation, you can see the transformation in their confidence and self-assurance.
If you would like to help empower the campers of Camp Molly, please visit www.campmolly.ca to volunteer or donate to a camp in your city today.
Share this article!