Newcastle is set to attract attention from the likes of Paramount Pictures and the National Australia Bank thanks to Girls on Fire, an incorporated not-for-profit association teaching firefighting and disaster management skills to teenage girls.

On June 30^th through to July 1^st, Girls on Fire will be holding their two-day Newcastle Girls Fire and Resilience Camp at Lake Macquarie Fire Control Centre, George Booth Drive, Cameron Park. These evidence-based fire skills training camps a mission to build emergency resilience and response capacity in individuals and communities.

Made possible by the generosity of the National Australia Bank foundation, the Newcastle camp promotes community engagement in fire, emergency and disaster prevention, preparedness and relief through educating girls in a fun, skills-based camp format. Each camp creates volunteer and vocational pathways for girls aged 15-19 in a regional or urban area. The two-day Newcastle Girls Fire and Resilience Camp at Lake Macquarie Fire Control Centre will feature in a television commercial for the National Australia Bank, promoting both Girls on Fire and the youth of Newcastle throughout 2022.

The Newcastle fire camp will also see a tour by representatives from Paramount Picture’s latest release, Fireheart. Fireheart tells the story of Georgia, a sixteen-year-old girl who disguises herself as a boy to help her firefighter father solve the mystery of an arsonist plaguing New York City after she’s rebuffed for being a girl.

“It’s absolutely wonderful to be back in Newcastle, a city I lived and worked during the initial stages of creating Girls on Fire. The National Australia Bank foundation have been an amazing in-kind and financial supporter of our Newcastle program. To have them honour this beautiful city in their latest television commercial shoot is so humbling,” said founder Bronnie Mackintosh

Macktintosh continued, “To think our girls fire camps have caught the eye of Paramount Pictures who are telling a story that highlights the inequality in such a fun way is further proof we’re headed in the right direction with Girls on Fire.”

Girls interested in registering for the two-day Girls Fire and Resilience Camp Newcastle, June 30th to July 1st, 2022, at Lake Macquarie Fire Control Centre, George Booth Drive, Cameron Park should head to https://girlsonfire.com.au/

Applications Close June 27, 2022.

About Girls on Fire:

Girls on Fire Inc is an incorporated not-for-profit creating a sustainable movement of empowered women, diverse allies, and resilient communities in fire and emergency services. Girls on Fire empower girls and young women to find future work and volunteering pathways and greater community connection through learning firefighting and disaster management skills.

For more information, please contact Bronnie Mackintosh via our contact page

About National Australia Bank Foundation:

The NAB Foundation is the philanthropic arm of NAB. We are an independent charity that aims to be a catalyst for positive social and environmental change in Australia. Through giving and investments, the Foundation is committed to new and innovative ways to use philanthropic capital for greater social impact. At a time when Australia’s climate is changing, communities and the environment face increased risk from natural disasters. The Foundation recently refreshed its strategy to focus on initiatives helping Australians before, during and after natural disasters. You can read more about the new grant programs and previous grant partners and history below.

The Foundation’s grant making approach and the social and environmental issues we have supported have evolved over the years, reflecting both NAB and community priorities, to a focus now on supporting organisations both at a local community level and a network level, with the aim to create sustainable, system-level change. We also undertake discrete impact investments and invest underlying corpus assets with a socially responsible investment position.

For more information, head to https://www.nab.com.au/about-us/social-impact/community/nab-foundation-and-grants

For other fire camp dates, please see our cultural inclusion and urban fire camps pages.