A firefighting empowerment camp for girls was abruptly canceled after a discrimination complaint to the city.
That complaint came from a boy's father who called it a "girls only" empowerment camp that deterred his son from taking part.
Organizers with the Girls Empowerment Camp told us registration for the March 3 and 4 camp filled up with 100 participants in just three days. There were 40 participants on a wait list too. But now, no one will be taking part.
When EMT Reuben Callero's 17-year-old niece started showing interest in becoming a firefighter, he knew she needed to see what it's like first-hand.
"I can tell her this is how a first responder situation works and this is how it is from my perspective but I can't give her that: the female perspective," he said.
Callero soon discovered the Girls Empowerment Camp, a free event put on by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Foundation. Female firefighters from all over the state and even Mexico volunteer so that girls between ages 14 to 18 can work next to them.
This weekend was supposed to be its second annual event.
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An attorney for a man who claimed he was "prevented from timely enrolling his son in this camp because boys were not invited to attend, based solely on their sex" sent a letter to the city.
The city attorney informed the foundation that city resources could not be used for this event due to its gender-specific nature.
Foundation officials said that given the city's position, it would not go forward with the event.
San Diego Fire-Rescue sent out a statement in part: "To be clear, at no time was any male denied entry into the GEC."
The foundation also added that gender isn't asked about on the registration. The attorney never filed a lawsuit against the foundation but did cite many anti-discrimination laws in his letter to the city.
He also called the event a "no-boys allowed empowerment camp." Organizers with the Girls Empowerment Camp told NBC 7 the main reason for having this event is to empower girls in a male-dominated industry.
