Overland Park ? Sixteen-year-old Julie Adkins, of Lenexa, just finished a fire drill that required her to turn off a propane tank that was feeding a car fire.

“It wasn’t really that scary,” Adkins said as she peeled off her dingy yellow uniform, “being the danger-seeker that I am.”

Adkins is one of 16 participants in Camp Inferno, a weeklong sleepover camp for teenage girls interested in firefighting.

Most came from this area, but several are from other states. One aspiring firefighter flew in from Sweden.

Men and women from several Johnson County fire departments taught the young women how to handle hoses, climb aerial ladders and fight fires at the Overland Park Fire Training Center.

Some of the 16 girls participating in a fire training camp are shown this week at the Fire Training Center in Overland Park. Camp Inferno is an all-girls sleepover camp put on by the Overland Park Fire Department, Consolidated Johnson County Fire District No. 2, Leawood Fire Department and Shawnee Fire Department. The girls will learn the basics about firefighting and enhance their teamwork and leadership skills. This is the second year for the camp.

But when it comes to being a female firefighter, the risk is not always on the scene of a fire.

“I do believe that any girl going into any career that is gender-dominated by men is up for a challenge from day one,” said Overland Park fire Capt. Julie Harper, who organizes Camp Inferno. “Even if you have the best support, it’s almost human nature that the person that is different is under a microscope.”

In Kansas City, two female firefighters sued the city several years ago, alleging it failed to provide proper equipment and facilities for women. A federal appeals court this year upheld $335,000 in damage awards.

At the latest count by Women in the Fire Service Inc., Missouri had 64 female firefighters; Kansas had 31.

Officials from the International Association of Fire Fighters estimate that women make up about 4.5 percent of the force nationwide.

But Adkins isn’t sure if she’s going to join those ranks. So at Camp Inferno, Adkins is putting the profession to the test.

“It’s kind of a make it or break it thing,” she said.