ABC 7 just asked the firefighters passing where they’re from and the firefighters said they were incarcerated they immediately panned lmao 😭 let it be known that the firefighters fighting near reseda blvd ARE THE PPL MOST OF U HATE
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They cannot legally be employed as firefighters after serving their sentences so if the point is skill training, it's a spiteful gesture.
You cannot incarcerate someone without assuming responsibility for feeding and housing them. Let them go if you don't want to meet that simple and basic duty.
This isn't true any more. @hahnscratch.bsky.social is a former incarcerated firefighter & I was reading his very informative posts last night, including how he was involved in the fight to allow them to be hired as firefighters after release.
I read the article he's quoted in. Sounds like it's somewhere in between. Which, considering the physical, mental and health sacrifices they make for $1-2/hr, is egregiously exploitative.
If their work is "good enough" while indentured servants they should automatically qualify when they're free.
"Legislation passed in 2020 has made it easier for former fire crew members to get their records expunged and get firefighting jobs. But Pedro said the process can still be difficult and time-consuming."
Most of those firefighters are rightfully proud of the fact that they’re saving people’s lives and homes. Plus, they now have a path to employment as a firefighter… or POTUS.
No, they don't. It's illegal for felons to hold EMT certification, and thus, they cannot hold the job that they're risking their lives for right now once they're out.
CA Penal Code 1203.4b (b)(5)(A) “A defendant who is granted an order pursuant to this section shall not be required to disclose the conviction on an application for licensure by any state or local agency.”
It didn’t pass because law-enforcement and their supporters didn’t want it to pass. Inmates in the fire training program earn an extra three days of credit for every day served. so they get out faster.
When incarcerated firefighters helped put out the 2017 fires here in Santa Rosa, I swore we’d figure out how to help them… ashamed to say I still have no freaking clue how
I read a piece (sorry I lost the link) that pointed me to https://antirecidivism.org and a way to target your donation to firefighters fund.
Big thanks to everyone fighting the fires and supporting the impacted communities.
We live a few blocks blocks from where fire crews from all over, the national guard etc were set up for much of those weeks and the incarcerated firefighters were STILL locked up when off duty… granted it was minimum security (ok except the natl’ guard was right across the street) but - shameful
Tbh, way too often do men just not pay cs so i can see why that would be a criminal offence but i feel like it shouldnt just be up to the jury and judge who dont know the full story.
The wages these people who are in prison get to fight these fires is so far below minimum wage. It's a volunteer position but they're being paid like $10 a day to risk their lives.
These people put their lives on the line and when they're released they won't have much money to work with
I kept meeting homeless people who were telling me, I used to be a firefighter, I used to be a smoke diver, and these folks did not seem to fit the mold of the professional firefighter
It took me a while to figure out that they did that while they were locked up.
I've seen doctors who are homeless, so really, what separates a professional firefighter from a homeless person? What separates anyone from being a homeless person aside from cruel chance? They didn't choose to be homeless, surely they wouldn't be if they had a choice.
Yes, even disciplined, conscientious, physically fit people become homeless. Even educated people.
Say…. all your $ when to a loved one’s cancer battle, then you experienced a series of strokes. Say… you’re a single parent and your child is in hospital and you loose your job then can’t afford rent.
Five seconds on google found a medical article about the prevalence of PTSD and substance abuse among first responders.
My family has had firefighters over three generations. I respect their work. But they are human. Exactly like the incarcerated people fighting fire in California.
They missed an opportunity to do an impromptu interview about prisoners working as underpaid fire fighters. Also same prisoners when released are barred from these jobs. I recommend a book by Danielle Allen titled ‘Cuz’ where she writes about her incarcerated cousin who did this.
I used to watch pit bulls and parolees. When they were in california and at that time they had wildfires and the convicts did come out and saved tia's ranch.
Is it possible they did that because they didn’t want to expose the inmates faces on TV without their permission? Like, to help maintain some sense of privacy and security to those people while they are selflessly doing a dangerous job while also going through the worst time of their own lives?
Correction: inmate firefighters now earn credit for time served of three days for every day worked, not two. That means for each day served, an inmate receives an additional three days toward the completion of his/her sentence.
What makes me so upset is that when I first learned about this program I was told that, upon release, participants were *ineligible* for work in any fire department.
I don’t know if that’s still true.
CDCR, some can seek professional emergency response cert and expedited expungement once freed and a felony conviction doesn’t bar employment with Cal Fire. One 18-month training program helps participants become qualified to apply for entry-level firefighting jobs https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/la-wildfires-incarcerated-firefighters
The goal of incarceration is supposedly rehabilitation, except it obviously is not since they don't make any effort at all to keep metrics for that. If it were, they would track things like participation in programs instead of just negatives like fights.
@antirecidivism.bsky.social runs a reentry and placement program for formerly incarcerated firefighters that takes advantage of the AB 2147, the expungement legislation.
Really hoping they find a way — just seems like it would be a win for everyone involved. They’re starting with people in minimum security who have proven themselves and deserve a second chance.
For sure, it's a win for everyone except like Geo Group and other prison industry lobbies.
Keeping those people desperate, and without gainful employment, increases their chance of recidivism.
Absolutely-I keep thinking the key to lower recidivism is to make sure there’s support and a job paying a living wage on the other side once they get out.
SB 731 is automatic but it does take a few years post-case to go into effect for felonies. However CA does not do actual expungements, the conviction stays in state records
I know! I think it’s still egregious to then have to go through expungement etc when our literal president is .. well you know. It’s just all bad. But they deserve to be able to choose to be a firefighter and get paid the same amount as those who were not incarcerated
I give those Prisoners credit. That’s a very dangerous, thankless job. They should definitely win at least 1 month off their sentence for every day they fight the fires! It’s the least California can do for them!
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'CDCR firefighters earn btw $5.80 and $10.24 a DAY (!) and an additional $1 pr hr when responding to Active Emergencies.
When responding to Disasters, they may earn $26.90 over a 24-HR SHIFT (!)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/la-wildfires-incarcerated-firefighters
"CDCR firefighters earn btw $5.80 and $10.24 A DAY and an additional $1 per hr when responding to active emergencies
When responding to DISASTERS, they may earn $26.90 over a 24-HR SHIFT"
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/la-wildfires-incarcerated-firefighters
You cannot incarcerate someone without assuming responsibility for feeding and housing them. Let them go if you don't want to meet that simple and basic duty.
If their work is "good enough" while indentured servants they should automatically qualify when they're free.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/01/11/los-angeles-palisades-prisoners-firefighters
https://bsky.app/profile/sjoneswastaken.bsky.social/post/3lffjhz6y2s26
I still get paid roughly $22 an hour when I am at the scene of a fire. I also live in an are with much lower cost of living than LA.
https://www.vera.org/news/from-fighting-wildfires-to-digging-graves-incarcerated-workers-face-danger-on-the-job
That is if any one takes civics classes any more.
Big thanks to everyone fighting the fires and supporting the impacted communities.
These people put their lives on the line and when they're released they won't have much money to work with
Supporting oligarchies
So easy like Do-Re-Mi
A-B-C
Taking rights from you and me! 🎶
It took me a while to figure out that they did that while they were locked up.
These folks were alcoholics, undisciplined, and not at all the type of helping individual that aspires to become a public servant.
Also, homeless doctors? Really?
Really?
Say…. all your $ when to a loved one’s cancer battle, then you experienced a series of strokes. Say… you’re a single parent and your child is in hospital and you loose your job then can’t afford rent.
You're talking about "I lost my house in a disaster" kinda homeless
And I'm talking about "Priced out of the housing market working full time and living in a car for years" homeless
Like, the folks who were homeless already before the disaster
My family has had firefighters over three generations. I respect their work. But they are human. Exactly like the incarcerated people fighting fire in California.
I don’t know if that’s still true.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/la-wildfires-incarcerated-firefighters
Cali municipal firefighters are required to be EMT certified, felons are disqualified.
There was a law that said they can apply to get their felony records expunged if they complete one of the fire camps, but it's very rarely granted.
guy can start nuclear war, but he can't get a cali EMT cert
Keeping those people desperate, and without gainful employment, increases their chance of recidivism.
Solutions: increase muni fire budgets, eliminate Ca's slave labor exemption, & better expungement programs