I've always have had a few concerns about this;
1. are they taking jobs away from guys who have been law abiding citizens?
2. the safety of all our regular firefighters who are gonna be in contact with these criminals as well as other volunteers and workers; kitchen/showers/toilets/ etc are all in and around these criminals. 
3. that regular civilians call firefighters heros; are these prisoners heros too?
4. Does this experience give them a leg up when applying for firefighting positions when they get out and is that fair to law abiding applicants?


We have some fire fighters within NCKA, perhaps someone could let us know?

I saw those guys working soooo hard!!!! No whining, no slacking, most were under 30, young guys..... If this gives them an alternative to jail and returning to jail after being released. I would have to say all good. As I understand it is only min security prisoners that are put on these details. All were POLITE to the point of making me feel old (sir this, sir that) I don't know if our local could do enough without them... Does seem counter intuitive though... Hire a bunch of OUR young folks here! Probably not enough applicants... It is HARD WORK!!!!!

I saw those guys working soooo hard!!!! No whining, no slacking, most were under 30, young guys..... If this gives them an alternative to jail and returning to jail after being released. I would have to say all good. As I understand it is only min security prisoners that are put on these details. All were POLITE to the point of making me feel old (sir this, sir that) I don't know if our local could do enough without them... Does seem counter intuitive though... Hire a bunch of OUR young folks here! Probably not enough applicants... It is HARD WORK!!!!!

Might be due to a lack of funds to pay someone to do the job rather than a lack of applicants.  Maybe both.

I’ve worked alongside CalFire inmate crews on several wildfires over the last few years.  They work hard and are polite.  I’ve rarely had any problems working alongside them.  There were a few times where I even showed them how to repair handlines (pulling back berms, installing waterbars, etc.), and they were very polite and seemed eager to learn why doing such things was important.  They’d MUCH rather be out on the line than sitting back in jail.  If they mess up ONE time while out on the line, their captain will send them right back behind bars and they know it.

In camp, the inmates do not eat with the federal firefighters.  Nor do they use the same bathrooms or sleeping quarters.  Their captains keep a close eye on them at all times, and there are usually at least a few sheriff deputies nearby as well.

The only issues I’ve seen with the inmate crews are the garbage they leave behind.  I usually have to bring it up with their captains when I start seeing little wrappers and empty juice boxes from their lunches strewn about the forest during an incident.  Then the captains come down HARD on the mates and make them clean up every single piece of trash they find.

On the lighter side, they can be pretty comical at times.  Many of them have never been in the forest before.  Sometimes they’ll ask me “You seen any bears out here?” I tell them “oh yeah, lots of bears,” and they get scared shitless  .

Might be due to a lack of funds to pay someone to do the job rather than a lack of applicants.  Maybe both.

Likely the former, and not the latter.  I can't speak for CalFire, but I know every year we (the Lassen National Forest) go through HUNDREDS of firefighter applications for a handful of positions.

Great piece Clayman
I worked on a sanitation truck running the hose as a young boy in 1965 during fires in Clear lake. We serviced all the camps with inmates FF's. I have been involved with the prison system in SQ the last 20 years. You are on the mark. My experience has been both a humble and eager group.  Most of the inmate/firefighters are from Jamestown and it is not easy to get on the crews so it is a privilege to be chosen. I like what you said about their life experience and how naive they are about the outdoors. I respect all opinions regarding how we feel about inmates doing this work and appreciate our shared experiences. It always helps me keep an open mind. 

Now it makes sense. I was driving on the freeway 2 weeks ago and saw a couple of cal fire busses that said dept of corrections on the side of it. 

I've been a full-time paid firefighter for a couple large fire departments for almost 8 years now and I've been on a handful of campaign fires. So here's my take on things:

Inmate crews are the hardest working crews on a fire. They mostly handle containment and mop up. Basically, they scrape the ground to bare earth creating a fire break, then they assist with putting out smoldering roots and other smoldering things. Trust me, it's the worst job out there. Worrying about them taking jobs is comparable to worrying about the guys standing in front of Home Depot stealing jobs. It's shit work that no one else wants to do. It's great to have them out there, because believe me, doing "extreme gardening" in the summer heat for hours on end wading through poison oak and manzanita totally sucks. Better to have them out there being productive, rather than making shanks and playing spades in the cell block.