This is not a typical summer camp. Michelle Pawlaw and eight other teenage girls are participating in the three--day camp offered by the Arlington County Fire Department located just outside Washington. Firefighter Clare Burley is in charge of the program,who said the purpose is to try to get young women interested in considering the fire service as a career. The free-of-charge,overnight camp is designed to let the girls experience what firefighters do to protect the community. That includes some rigorous activities such as moving a fire victim. "I dindn't think I could pull that 170 pound body with a friend, but I was actually able to do it." she said. They take classes and learn how to climb the ladder on a fire truck, operate emergency tools and rescue an injured person. They also do their share of cleaning the firehouse and the equipment. "Every week without fail on a Saturday,the job is to wash all the equipment. And we wanted the girls to see this is what we do. This is a typical day in a firehouse,"she said. Firefighting is still a male-dominated service,but Burley says with 22 women on its force of 320 the Arlington County Fire Department is above the national average of 4.5 percent. She joined the department seven years ago. "We do everything that the guys do to the same standard. We are tested to the same standard. We are expected to operate at the same standard,"she said. Most of the girls say they had never thought about becoming a firefighter. but the camp was a great learning experience. "I think it is definitely not a job that only men can do. Women can do it just as well as men can,"said Michelle Pawlaw. What can we learn about the summer camp according to the passage?
American fire departments often hold such events. It is sponsored by Arlington County Fire Department. The girls spent their night in the summer camp,which lasted 3 days. It is very popular among American girl students.