Are people questioning this and using it to push political motives with propaganda?

That essentially says a large fraction of the firefighting crew consists of incarcerated individuals, who are barred from becoming firefighters once they are released. Their take is that it is an abusive system.

I fact-checked it and came up with pretty much the same information as above.

There are some nuances - some jurisdictions require EMT certification, and some felony convictions do bar the granting of an EMT certification. But not al jurisdictions require it - and it sounds like some of the convictions might get expunged as part of the rehabilitation program.

I think I saw it in DU

about these fire camps. There are also cooks and I think medically trained (EMT types) at the camps too.

It was a fascinating program which detailed how those firecamps work — a tough, all volunteer program which seemed to be a win/win for both California and the inmates.

I'm not sure this link points to the same show but it's a start: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/you-can-barely-breathe/

They accrue practical benefits: some pay, expunged records, living outside the prison,
shortened prison sentence, good job references, on the job experience,
the utmost respect from future employers and colleagues.

They also know they have saved lives and property.

All of this is excellent for self esteem, gaining self respect and pride.
And giving them a solid foundation to start their new lives when they are released from prison.

There is not a therapist in the world who could accomplish all of this with just therapy.

I'm impressed..Thanks for posting!

Was a finance guy who ran a fund and was doing extrenely well while living in San Diego. He had a mental health crisis that got worse and worse over a couple of years and he ended up going to prison over things he did while off his rocker. He was working these fire crews in different parts of the state and got out early and got his life back together, although he'll never run a fund again because of his felony convictions. It was really the way he survived prison, having something useful to do.

That farm with prisoner labor provided all fresh produce for the rest of the prison system and state hospitals.

When the farm was running, the prisoners would go to the farm after breakfast and spend the day doing farm duties. Lunch was on the farm, with food delivered from the prison kitchen. After the work day, they would return to the inside, shower (required), and then have an evening meal.

It was a paid job similar to the one described above. THEN some idiot or a bunch of idiots decided it was not cost-effective.

I'll let you guess what happened then. Hint: They needed more guards to control the bored prisoners. Fights were more commonplace, and more lockdowns made matters worse.

Less than two years later, the entire farm was sold off to land developers.

I wonder how many of the idiots got richer.

And this is before Dump sweeps in with chaos and destruction everywhere his tiny hands can reach. I shudder to think of the next years….

* and I'm glad to see a thoughtful and informative post.

Thanks for posting.

The recidivism rate for inmates is disgusting in our country. We must give them something to do instead of committing crimes. We must show them how they can be productive members of society in order to keep them from being a repeat offender. Give them a life skill. More of this please.

Great informative read.

that was a firefighter with CalFire -now retired-and the last, I think, three years he worked, he worked with incarcerated firefighters.

This really adds important context and conditions to be eligible. I still believe all inmate labor should be compensated at minimum wage, especially for those that owe back child support.

Solves several problems at once:
- firefighting support and workload relief
- good honest work that can earn them shorter sentences
- building a good reputation as workers
- building useful/valuable skills for after time served
- building job connections with professional firefighters
- rebuilding their self-esteem
And more!

Everybody wins.

I endorse everything this poster has said and opined.

On our dairy farm, we had a high-quality ice cream machine. The milk we took out of the cows would go directly into the ice cream machine and make the best ice cream I’ve ever had.

There was also a slaughterhouse and a cowboy crew.. The alleged reason for the slaughterhouse was to provide meat for the prisoners. Coincidentally, two of the guards who were in charge of the slaughter house owned a restaurant in town. All we got were the tough gristly steaks. Guess where the good stuff went?

I actually paid my way through prison, sent money out to an ungrateful and missing wife, and had a nest egg saved up to start over when I got out.

The prisoners get their record expunged and potentially get a great firefighting job with excellent benefits, for the first time in their lives, when they get out. It essentially pulls them from poverty and lifts them--and their family--into the middle class when they get out.

But it is grueling dangerous work, and they are much more likely to get injured than regular firefighters. But then again, prison is dangerous too. Virtually all of these prisoners say they would rather be fighting fires than sitting in prison.

Thank you so much for posting this. So informative. I've been wondering about those prison firefighters.
I love to read and I love to learn. This info was right up my alley. Thanks again!

My husband is incarcerated on Colorado, one of the better states to be incarcerated in,, if you must be incarcerated.

Everything which is done to treat the incarcerated as human bings is a step in the right direction. The firefighting program sounds like a very sound one. Not everyone would be eligible - and not everyone would be willing - but those who are willing and able to go through that training program and do that work deserve respect, and it sounds like they are getting it.

My husband is 91, was never and athlete, and is experiencing increasing memory loss, so would not be eligible. But more power to those who are.

You got people getting paid $1 an hour to protect million dollar properties. Fuck that. Pay these people.

They get free firefighter training, making them eligible for a good paying firefighter or paramedic job with excellent benefits.