Firefighting needs 'all hands on deck' to keep up with wildfires

It's going to take a full team effort to combat wildfires in Alberta and across Canada, says Jane Park. But for that, she says, the firefighting field needs to become a whole lot more welcoming.

"The fire industry is very male dominated," Park told What On Earth host Laura Lynch. 

Park is the fire and vegetation specialist for Parks Canada's Banff field unit. The Korean-Canadian is one of the leaders running a workshop there called Women in Fire Training Exchange (WTREX), which aims to bring more diversity into firefighting. 

"We're trying to change the diversity of the community and provide people with the opportunity to gain some of those skills in a really safe environment," said Park.

The 12-day workshop wrapped up on May 12, and offered people the chance to participate in live fire training, and have discussions with people who work in the field. 

Alberta is currently dealing with worsening wildfires across the province. Over 30,000 people have fled their homes, and firefighters are working tirelessly to control the spreading flames. 

Park is working to make sure there are more people who feel comfortable in her line of work. Her workshop brings together people of different genders, ethnicity and backgrounds. She says people have attended from across Canada, as well as California, Virginia and Bolivia. 

When she was a kid, Park always played outside. So transitioning to working outside as an adult was a natural fit. Over the past 20 years, Park has worked in fire-fighting related jobs across Canada. She focuses on the benefits of prescribed burns, which can prevent deadly wildfires that get out of hand. 

But her position isn't always recognized, she says, because she's a woman. 

"Still, sometimes I show up at meetings and they assume that I'm not the incident commander. And they refer to my colleagues, who are my subordinates, thinking that they're the leader," said Park.

"Some people redirect and apologize. Other people continue to ignore me. I think that's still something that happens."

Rhodri Wiseman is a transgender fire partnerships and training specialist who grew up in Calgary, but now works across the border in Olympia, Washington, for the Ecostudies Institute.

They started working in fire suppression in northern Ontario, but ran into discrimination.

"There was a lot of misogyny, homophobia, transphobia that was really difficult for me," said Wiseman.