On Tuesday, November 5, 2019, the Lakeland Fire Department (LFD) hosted a unique, hands-on experience for students from the PACE Center for Girls. The experience will be an opportunity for the students to learn more about firefighting and see the career potential for women in the fire service. The half-day experience took place at Fire Station 1. This event complements the PACE Center’s mission of providing girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training, and advocacy.
An action-packed day of interactive opportunities is planned for the young women in attendance. The four-hour program will include:
| · Extrication Exercises · Apparatus Familiarization and Maintenance · Equipment and Gear Use | · Obstacle Course · Station Tours · Lunch |
This event is part of the department’s Igniting Change: Women in the Fire Service campaign. The campaign was started by the department in 2018, in hopes of getting girls and young women interested in a career in the fire service! Nationwide, firefighting is a predominantly male profession, with only about 4% of the workforce being female (NFPA Fire Statistics). That also holds true for the Lakeland Fire Department, with six of the department’s 156 frontline personnel being women.
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The educational campaign is presented from the perspective of current female firefighters, sharing their experiences, challenges, and overall advice for success. At the heart of the Igniting Change campaign are hands-on opportunities, like the one planned for November 5th , and a video production that features female firefighters from LFD and several other departments from across the country, providing their different perspectives and experiences. By showing how successful women currently are in the fire service, LFD hopes to motivate women to consider becoming emergency responders, particularly young women in school thinking about which career to pursue.
More About the Department:
The Lakeland Fire Department (LFD) was established as a career-department in 1916. The Lakeland Fire Department has an Insurance Service Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification 1, the highest achievable rating. The department has seven stations serving approximately 110,000+ people in the City of Lakeland. The department has 178 employees, of which 156 are emergency response personnel. In 2018, the department responded to over 25,100 service calls in its 84 square-mile response area, which includes the city limits as well as portions of unincorporated Lakeland.
The department offers a wide range of services which include heavy rescue, technical rescue, fire prevention, fire code enforcement, fire investigation, aircraft rescue and firefighting, and in-house fleet maintenance; all in addition to outstanding fire suppression and emergency medical response.
The Lakeland Fire Department is also passionate about being an active participant in its community and consistently giving back through philanthropic efforts and through non-emergency services like community outreach and preventative public education.
More about the PACE Center for Girls:
PACE’s mission is to provide girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training, and advocacy. PACE values all girls and young women, believing each one deserves an opportunity to find her voice, achieve her potential and celebrate a life defined by responsibility, dignity, serenity, and grace.
The PACE Center for Girls has developed a nationally recognized, research-based nonresidential program model that features a balanced emphasis on academics and social services, with a focus on the future for middle and high-school aged girls and young women.
The foundation of PACE is a gender-responsive culture where educators provide a safe environment that celebrates girls. The PACE program model addresses the needs of girls and has garnered recognition nationally as one of the most effective programs in the country for keeping girls from entering the juvenile justice system.