Why imprisoned workers play a major role in fighting California fires Prison news

Los Angeles, California – As a series of winds driven by the wind that caused unprecedented destruction in southern California this month, the firefighters that consist of currently imprisoned and previously imprisoned individuals were at the forefront of the battle to contain fire.

California’s fire control program has long been criticized for relying on imprisoned workers, who face low wages and dangerous conditions.

But the supporters of the program note that in recent years, the state has taken steps to expand the opportunities of firefighters imprisoned to follow the professions in this field when release.

Brian Conerry, the team leader of the state’s fire control agency, recently led a crew of formerly imprisoned firefighters to fight Kenneth fire and fire north of Los Angeles.

In a stormy morning in mid -January, he explained that about 432 people have passed the fire control certificate program for conditional persons at the Ventura Training Center (VTC) since October 2018.

“This program is unique.”

“These men work well under pressure because they lived a life under pressure.”

Imprisoned

About 1747 imprisoned workers live in a network of 35 “preservation firefighting camp”, according to the California Legislative Analyst (LAO). The camps are jointly managed by Cal Fire, the California Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Ministry (CDCR) and the Los Angeles Fire Department.

In the camps, individuals learn firefighting skills, such as cleaning the brush and dealing with heavy equipment to create fire lines.

The role of imprisoned persons in the state’s firefighting efforts is great: while the numbers can vary by the year, the imprisoned firefighters can constitute up to 30 percent of the state’s fire control force in the state.

Supporters of the program note that it is voluntary and that those who participate can shave time outside their sentences.

They also say that spending time in the open air, which is involved in the work that benefits society, is an attractive alternative to the slow routine of prison life. Conrroy explained that many find that the work of fighting fires is fulfilled and exciting.

“If you talk to some people on these crews, he will tell you that it is the best thing for them,” Connergy said.

Brewpart fires

But the work is hard and sometimes dangerous. It provides imprisoned workers with great cost savings for the state, which leads to the scrutiny of the motives behind the program.

“The Executive Director of the Warriors Coalition is freedom statement on monday.

Motta herself was an imprisoned firefighter, and her organization hoped to press for more fires for all people in California prisons. She noted that when forest fires approach prison, the authorities are sometimes slow to transport people inward away from harm.

“They deserve safety as much as the rest of the affected society,” she said.

Critics also refer to the contradiction in wages as one of the negatives of the fire control program.

Only imprisoned workers are pushed by a small part of the wages received by unjust crews. They get between $ 5.80 and $ 10.24 a day, a number that can increase by one dollar per hour when they spread to combat fires.

However, even with this shock, daily wages reach only about $ 29.80 for 24 hours of work.

In comparison, the monthly basic salary of the Cal Fire employee ranges between $ 3672 and $ 4643, with between $ 1,824 to $ 2.306 to “compensate the expanded week” – a term for watches that were made after the regular schedule.

Critics also notice that the need for an additional line on the fire line also grows, which makes a imprisoned workforce more attractive to government officials.

California’s firefighting season is now throughout the year. January, for example, not usually when the state sees a strong fire activity, but months without rain created conditions for explosive fire growth in the scene of the bush of the southern region’s bush.

On January 7, Palisades and Eaton fires erupted. The official cause of fires is still unknown, but early speculation has fallen on defective electrical equipment.

The strong winds of up to 160 km per hour (100 miles per hour) helped in Stoke, making them almost impossible to contain it. They spread across the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades and the historically black community of altadena, and the settlement of buildings in its paths.

According to Cal Fire, The Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire are now second and third, the most destructive in the state’s history, with 9,418 and 6662 structures, respectively. At least 17 people were killed in Eiton Blaise, along with 11 in the mosques.

“The destruction is a very difficult birth control pill to swallow anyone for a long time.” “When someone loses his home, he is not only the house. It is all they lose. It is childhood memories, pictures on the wall.”

But the status of workers who are assigned specifically the fire – and the compensation they receive to do so – is still a matter of continuous discussion in California.

Legislative steps

The legislative body of the state has taken some steps in recent years to change the imprisoned firefighters program, in response to some criticism.

In September 2020, Governor Gavin New Zom Bell signed 2147, which allowed formerly imprisoned firefighters a history of nonviolent crimes to falsify their records.

This, in turn, opens them to opportunities to follow the professions that their criminal records may hinder, including professional firefighting and emergency services services.

Senator Elliz Gomez Reyes, who sponsored this Bell, told Al -Jazeera in a statement he sent via e -mail that the legislation seeks to “make sure that once the firefighting skills are developed by imprisoned individuals, then they are given an opportunity to continue serving their full -time firefighters.”

This month, a member of the State Council, Isaac Brian, also presented legislation that requires pushing the prisoners who are imprisoned at the same hour, as the non -imprisoned firefighters.

The draft law can be heard in the Finance Committee of the Legislative Commission in early February 15.

Andrew Hernandez, 41, said he was completing the program at the Ventura Training Center and recently sent him to a job request to Calfire.

“Not in a million years, I was guessing,” laughing, describing the program as “changing life.”

Some of us made bad decisions. Some of us did bad things. But I want to take out the stadium. I want to do something to return the favor. “