Tough Brooks grad scores hot summer job

Brooklyn Vanderkemp is the first woman to win the coveted spot on the Powell River Fire Base’s Junior Fire Crew

BY GREGORY BLAIS

Beginning in 2016, The Powell River Fire Base piloted the provincially-driven Junior Fire Crew Member program to provide employment opportunities for high school students.

Every year, in the fall, we visit Brooks Secondary School and present an outlook of the program and the application process.

During training week on Spring Break, 10 students learn about fireline safety, suppression techniques and tactics, helicopter awareness, and wilderness navigation. Each student must participate in daily rigorous fitness challenges and testing and by the end, they are interviewed with a series of technical and behavioural questions that reflect on their recently acquired knowledge. A decision is then rendered on one successful applicant.

This year, that is Brooklyn Vanderkemp.

“Being an outdoorsy, athletic and determined individual, I was intrigued and jumped on the opportunity,” she recalls. “During training the crew put us through different fitness tests, an online course, and an interview. We hiked up Scout Mountain carrying pulaskis, jerrycans, hoses, and backpacks, sprinted on the field pulling charged hoses, and lapped the Timberlane track hauling forty-five-pound packs. It was empowering knowing you are capable of putting your body through tough challenges like these.

FACE YOUR FOES, WILDFIRES: From the left: Peter Milner, Mackenzie Guild and Brooklyn Vanderkemp

“It’s hard physically and mentally, but so rewarding in the best ways possible. I thoroughly enjoyed the physical aspect of the training week. Even if I didn’t receive a job offer, the training week would have been worth it to gain the education and training. I am incredibly excited to work with the crew this summer with all the challenges, fun experiences, and hard work that come with the job.

Four out of the five successful Junior Fire Crew Members from Powell River have pursued careers with the BC Wildfire Service from the Sunshine Coast to Fort Saint John. Mackenzie Guild, a former Brooks High School student, has begun his second season as a fulltime auxiliary firefighter on Powell River’s Coast India Initial Attack crew. James Southcott who was our first Jr. (2016) since continued a career with BCWS and is starting his second year with the Parattack program.

Seeing these Powell River locals thrive in our organization and across the province makes us proud and motivates us to continue improving the program. As with everything, we were forced to adapt during the ongoing pandemic. Downsizing the schedule and prioritizing field activities over in-class learning meant we could keep the program alive, but it also helped us find innovative activities to convey our training material in a more engaging and hands on way.

Brooklyn, an athlete, competes in track and field for Brooks

Although the program has evolved over the years, it has always strived to stay true to its original intent, offer thrilling job opportunities to graduating students, opportunities that can translate into a career path and a great way to afford post secondary education while helping the beautiful province of British Columbia.

It’s an opportunity that Brooklyn plans to take full advantage of.

“Next year I am attending UBC for engineering and I am planning to get my masters and PhD as well,” she said. “I hope to be firefighting during the summers when I get back from university. In the future I really want to be a part of the parattack crew, which are firefighters who parachute from “jumpships” (fixed-winged aircrafts) to fight wildfires that are in hard to reach locations.”

Gregory Blais is the Sunshine Coast Fire Zone Succession Crew Leader for the BC Wildfire Service.