Photo courtesy of Pexels
On Apr. 8th, the United Women Firefighters and the Vulcan Society will host a free community festival and firefighter-themed adventure race to promote diversity in the FDNY. The United Women Firefighters represent the 57 women firefighters and women fire officers who work for the FDNY. The Vulcan Society is an organization of black firefighters open to active and retired members of EMS, fire inspectors and civilian personnel of the FDNY. Both organizations work to highlight the strength and benefits of diversity in the fire service and aim to provide all New Yorkers with the opportunity to have a rewarding career with the FDNY.
The Are You Brave Enough? race — as sponsored by LUNA, the popular nutrition bar for women — will be a 5K foot race that consists of seven exciting firefighter-themed obstacles that are modeled after the firefighter physical exam, firefighter academy and what firefighters do in the field. It will give people a taste of what it feels like to be one of the city’s bravest. The obstacles include window hurdles, dragging bodies, carrying fire hoses upstairs, crawling through a tunnel that simulates a dark fire, wearing heavy firefighter gear and much more.
The festival will be completely free to the public. In addition to having a filing site for the current firefighter exam, there will also be free CPR classes, fire safety demonstrations, and a free obstacle course for kids. The public can also try out firefighting bunker gear, take pictures on a real FDNY fire engine and operate a live hose line. There will be mini-workouts taught by UWF trainer Anwar Hafeez throughout the day and Vulcan Society guest trainer Yada Beener along with many giveaways and prizes.
More information on this weekend’s event and FDNY recruitment can be found here.
