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Los Angeles, California – Since a series of wind fires caused unprecedented destruction in southern California this month, fire crews are currently composed of and previously deprived of deprived people were at the forefront of the struggle to control the flames.
The California Fire Program has long been criticized for reading closed workers who face low pay and dangerous conditions.
But the supporters of the program say that in recent years the state has taken steps to expand the possibilities for incidental firefighters to continue their career in the field of release.
Brian CONROY, a captain at the State Fire Mud Fire Agency, has recently run a crew of former deprived firefighters to fight the fire of Kenneth and Palisades, north of Los Angeles.
On the windy morning in mid -January, he explained that about 432 people went through a fire certification program for people who were released from the VTC training center (VTC) from October 2018.
“This program is one of a kind,” said Conroi, a tall, tough man in a dark blue fiery uniform.
“These guys work well under pressure because they have lived under pressure.”
Prisonership
About 1747 deprived workers live in a network of 35 “fire camps”, according to the California Legislative Analyst's office (LAO). The bearings are managed jointly by Cal Fire, the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the Los Angeles County Fire Service.
In camps, people learn fire skills, such as clearing a brush and handling heavy equipment to create fire lines. They also undergo the vigorous physical fitness needed to attract nearly 30 kg (65 pounds) gear through the sometimes steep and difficult terrain in California.
The role of prisoners in the firefighter efforts is significant: while the numbers can vary depending on the year, incidents of firefighters can draw up to 30 percent of state fire forces in the wild.
Proponents of the program note that it is voluntary and those who participate can shave their time from their sentences.
They also say that spending time outdoors engaged in a job that benefits the community is an attractive alternative to banal prison life procedures. Corroi explained that many find the work of combat fires, performing and exciting.
“If you talk to some of the people in these crews, they will tell you that this is the best thing that has ever happened to them,” Congoi said.
Explosive fires
But work is tense and sometimes dangerous. And the use of workers' deprived workers offers considerable cost savings for the state, which leads to control of motivations behind the program.
“The life of prisoners is not spent,” said Amika Mota, CEO of the Coalition for Freedom of Sisters Warriors, a group of intercession, in a statement On Monday.
Mota herself has been imprisoned and her organization hopes to insist on more fire safety for all people in the prisons of California. She pointed out that when wild fires approach prisons, authorities sometimes slow to move people inside the harm.
“They deserve safety as much as the rest of the affected community,” she said.
Critics also point to the pay discretion as one of the decline in the fire program program.
Internal workers receive only part of the salaries that receive non-intensive crews. They receive between $ 5.80 and $ 10.24 a day, a figure that can be increased by $ 1 an hour when they are located to fight fire.
Yet, even with this blow, daily salaries are only about $ 29.80 for 24 hours of work.
By comparison, the monthly base salary for a Cal Fire employee is between $ 3,672 and $ 4,643, with an additional $ 1824 to $ 2,06 to “compensate for the prolonged duties week” – a time limit for hours working outside the normal schedule.
Critics also note that the need for additional fires on the fire line is also increasing, making the deprived workforce even more attractive to civil servants.
The California fire season is already year -round. January, for example, is usually not when the state sees a strong firefighter, but months without rain create conditions for the growth of an explosive fire in the shrubs of the bushy landscape of the southern region.
On January 7, both the palisades and the fires of Ethan broke out. The official cause of the fires remains unknown, but the early speculation has fallen to defective electrical equipment.
The winds, strong as 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour) helped the flames, which made them almost impossible to contain. They spread through the coastal district of the quiet palisades and the historically black community of Altadan, leveling buildings along their paths.
According to Cal Fire, Eaton Fire and The Palisades Fire, they qualify as the second and third most destructive in the history of the state, with 9 418 and 6 662 structures being destroyed accordingly. At least 17 people were killed in Blaze Ethan, along with 11 in the Palisadi.
“The devastation is a very difficult pill to swallow for anyone who has been doing this for a long time,” Congoi said. “When someone loses their house, it's not just a house. That's all they lose with him. These are the memories of childhood, the photos on the wall. “
But the status of workers who are tasked with containing the flames – and the compensation they receive for it – remains a matter of constant debate in California.
Legislative steps
The state legislative body has taken some steps in recent years to change the deprived firefighter program in response to some of the criticism.
In September 2020, governor Gavin Newm signed Bill AB 2147, which allowed firefighters from deprived persons with non -violent crimes stories to make their records.
This, in turn, opens them for pursuit of their careers, that their criminal records may interfere otherwise, including professional fire and emergency services.
Senator Eloaz Gomez Reyes, who sponsors this Bill, told Al Jazeera in email that the legislation seeks to “make sure that after developing fire skills by persons who are then offered the opportunity to continue to serve to his community as a full -time firefighters. “
This month, State Assembly member Isaac Brian has also introduced legislation requiring the freedom deprived of firefighters to pay the same hourly salary as the lowest non-fascinated firefighter.
The bill can be heard in the Fiscal Committee of the Legislative Power as of February 15.
Andrew Hernandez, a 41-year-old, who completed the program at the Ventura Training Center and recently sent a job application at Cal Fire, said that when he first went to prison, he never imagined he would become a firefighter.
“Not a million years old, I would guess,” he laughs, calling the life change program.
“Some of us made bad decisions. Some of us did bad things. But I want to equalize play conditions. I want to do something to return. “
