EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The first exercise for camp participant Rayanna Northgrave was pulling a dummy to simulate a fire rescue, followed by running a hose up and down three flights of stairs.

“It’s definitely fun to see that we can do what they do,” she said, referring to the guys like her dad — who most people think of when they picture firefighters.

That’s why El Segundo’s first fire chief, Deena Lee, hosted Fired Up!, a weekend girl’s firefighting empowerment camp.

“You have to have grit, and you have to have determination to do it,” said Lee. “But it is completely possible for women to physically do this job, and that’s what we’re demonstrating today when they’re dragging this dummy around and doing things that are difficult. We’re showing the world that women can do this job.”

Lee invited female firefighters from around the Southland to teach the camp. Beverly Hills Fire Department Firefighter Engineer Melissa Hillis entered the industry more than 20 years ago after meeting a woman who was training to be a firefighter.

“I didn’t even know that we could be firefighters,” said Hills. “And what happened was, I had to see it to believe it, to become it. And that’s what we’re trying to do here today. Many of these young ladies have never even seen a woman firefighter. It’s so rare.”

And in a rare but historic moment, Los Angeles Fire Department Fire Chief Kristin Crowley was sworn in March 25 as LA’s first female fire chief. She now joins Lee as the only two female chiefs in the LA area.

There is still a long way to go. Less than 5% of firefighters across the country are women.

“We want to move that number up obviously, and one of the ways we do that is doing these girls camps,” said Lee.

By seeing and doing, girls like Rayanna could be part of the next generation.

“It’s so cool to see that people from all over came to help put this on,” she said. “It definitely shows that it’s something that needs more recognition.”