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Fifteen middle school girls, helmets awry and wearing too-big fire jackets in the morning heat, crossed a desert lot with the lurching-forward-into-a-tornado walk that comes from carrying fully charged fire hoses.

The water may not have hit the intended target every time. And, on small hands, the gloves didn't fit like a glove. But it was all part of a program in which the take-away message was that their dreams can't be too big — and that their gender shouldn't dictate future job choices.

The visit to the Tucson Fire Department's training facility on Wilmot Road south of Interstate 10 came compliments of a weeklong pilot program by the Tucson Unified School District's career and technical education department, a program intended to expose girls to non-traditional career paths.

The students in Girls TEC Camp (Tackling Emerging Careers) are mostly from Pueblo Gardens, Hohokam, Valencia and Vail middle schools.

They spent Monday learning about teen court and meeting an FBI agent.

Tuesday, they built rockets and learned about women in flight.

Today, they'll learn about structural engineering, building bridges and domes — and ice cream sundaes by the end of the day.

"We're asking them to imagine the possibilities," said Debbie Leonetti, a work-based learning resource teacher with the district. "There are all sorts of opportunities out there, and we want to dispel those barriers that prevent girls from being interested in some of these career clusters."

Students who have an early interest in careers, Leonetti said, often find more relevance in coursework.

"How many times have you heard a student ask why they have to learn this stuff? This helps them understand how school will help them get where they need to be."

Laura Baker, a deputy fire chief, said the department is working for more staff parity in race and gender. Of the 673 uniformed staff members, 36 are women — about 5 percent.

Baker said research is showing exposure should start in the middle school years, so that girls can grow up envisioning themselves in a particular field.

Although the job of firefighting is physically demanding and still male-dominated, Baker was attracted to it in college because she liked the idea of working on a team.

"I like the camaraderie," she said. "I liked the physical and mental challenges, and even the emotional challenges.

"We won't bring a kid out of a burning building every day, but hopefully we are touching lives every day."

The girls tagged along as Capt. Diana Benson showed them where she sits in the passenger side of the fire engine, writing reports and working the radio. "I do a lot of talking," she said, which caused a round of giggles. She showed them the Jaws of Life, saying they could make a car into a convertible with it. She showed them the ladder, adding she's expected to climb 105 feet.

Giovanna Lossou, 12, a seventh-grader, shared that she's not a fan of heights.

"I'm petrified of heights," Benson responded, which prompted another round of giggles. "But it's like anything else, you just have to do it, and you have to overcome your fears.

"It's good to have a little fear, though, because you'll be more cautious, and you won't take undue risks."

The girls wielded sledgehammers. They clambered to the top of a six-story building. One asked why they couldn't just take an elevator. Their guides told them they're lucky. Recruits dread Tower Tuesdays, when they sprint up and down for training. Or when they mess up and need, um, reinforcement that they didn't take the right course of action.

Even if she didn't love heights, Giovanna was among the first up the stairs. She was among the first to tackle the water nozzle. Later, she said she's open to the possibility of a future career in the service. "It's a tough job, but I still like it. It was a great workout, and you get to help people," she said.

Jessy Kempton, 13, meanwhile, said she was glad for the exposure, but didn't think the career was for her.

"I'm a coward," she joked, then clarified: Except when it comes to puppies.

The incoming eighth-grader said she has her future mapped out, aiming to own a chain of bookstores. Those skills are vastly different from those she learned Wednesday, "unless my bookstore catches fire," she mused.

Leonetti said she hopes to expand the program next year to include more students and to give boys a look into non-traditional paths they might explore, from teaching to nursing to early child care.