Camp Fury started in Tucson, Ariz., in 2009, but had only expanded in the coastal areas of the country. After learning about the camp, Katie Wiegand, a firefighter and paramedic with the Metro West Fire Protection District, along with Gina Anderson, a lieutenant and paramedic with the Fenton Fire Protection District, contacted the Girl Scouts about bringing the camp here.

Anderson volunteered at the Tucson camp for the past six years, taking off work one week a year to mentor the girls.

“To see the girls wanting to be in the fire service or wanting to be a police officer was amazing to me,” Anderson said. “Half of them had never thought about it until that camp.”

It took more than two years for Anderson and Wiegand to bring the camp to St. Louis. Dozens of local emergency services departments donated time and equipment to help make it happen.

“We really just wanted to reach out to girls right before they go to college and exit high school to show them that these are possible career choices for them,” Wiegand said. “Since these are a male-dominated careers, it is intimidating to many women who might be interested.”