RFD announces date for second annual Women’s Fire Expo

(ABC 6 News) – The Rochester Fire Department has announced the date for the second annual Women’s Fire Expo.

The event will be held on May 20 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Olmsted County Public Safety Training Center, located at 1515 50th St. SE in Rochester.

The event is free for women and girls age 15-year-old and up, including those with previous and/or current fire experience.

The goal is to offer girls and women a chance to see firsthand that being a fire fighter is a viable and rewarding career choice.

RFD held its first ever Women’s Expo event last September.

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“We are excited to be offering the second Women’s Fire Expo.  Last year we saw a great response to the opportunity and hope to see even more women and girls in attendance this year. This opportunity really provides an opportunity to see that the profession is open to all and it is about working together to serve the community,” Firefighter Mandee Marx. “The Expo is really about breaking the stigma that you have to be a certain size and gender to do this job.”

At the expo, participants will get the chance to experience the following:

• Rappel from a three-story tower
• Climb the 110-foot aerial ladder
• Forcibly open a door
• Advance a hose line filled with water and spray water from the hose
• Search for and rescue a “victim”
• Learn how to extricate a person from a vehicle

Attendees will also get the change to go through the physical agility test Firefighters have to take after they receive a conditional offer of employment.

Lunch will be provided. All attendees are asked to wear comfortable clothes and tennis shoes.

Registration is free and open through Friday, May 5. To register or for more information, CLICK HERE.