'An Untapped Pool of Talent': Why Isn't California Hiring More Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters?
California's Firefighters Keep Getting Injured While Training. Some Have Died
Fire and ICE
California Turned Over an Incarcerated Firefighter to ICE. Lawmakers Urge Newsom to End the Practice
What's Next For Incarcerated Firefighters in California?
From Prison Crew to Pros, the Firefighters Who Beat the Odds — And Are Giving Back
Injuries to 2 Contractors, 1 Inmate Firefighter in Kincade Blaze Prompt State Investigations
Inmates Saved Homes in the Kincade Fire. They’ll Face an Uphill Battle Getting Firefighting Jobs After Release
More Than 1,000 Inmate Firefighters Are Helping Battle Camp, Woolsey Blazes
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He graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1998.","avatar":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/16d702c9ec5f696d78dbfb76b592cf0a?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twitter":"TedrickG","facebook":null,"instagram":null,"linkedin":null,"sites":[{"site":"news","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"science","roles":["editor"]}],"headData":{"title":"Ted Goldberg | KQED","description":"KQED Senior Editor","ogImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/16d702c9ec5f696d78dbfb76b592cf0a?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/16d702c9ec5f696d78dbfb76b592cf0a?s=600&d=blank&r=g"},"isLoading":false,"link":"/author/tgoldberg"},"markfiore":{"type":"authors","id":"3236","meta":{"index":"authors_1591205172","id":"3236","found":true},"name":"Mark Fiore","firstName":"Mark","lastName":"Fiore","slug":"markfiore","email":"mark@markfiore.com","display_author_email":false,"staff_mastheads":["news"],"title":"KQED News Cartoonist","bio":"\u003ca href=\"http://www.MarkFiore.com\">MarkFiore.com\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/markfiore\">Follow on Twitter\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-Fiore-Animated-Political-Cartoons/94451707396?ref=bookmarks\">Facebook\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"mailto:mark@markfiore.com\">email\u003c/a>\r\n\r\nPulitzer Prize-winner, Mark Fiore, who the Wall Street Journal has called “the undisputed guru of the form,” creates animated political cartoons in San Francisco, where his work has been featured regularly on the San Francisco Chronicle’s web site, SFGate.com. His work has appeared on Newsweek.com, Slate.com, CBSNews.com, MotherJones.com, DailyKos.com and NPR’s web site. Fiore’s political animation has appeared on CNN, Frontline, Bill Moyers Journal, Salon.com and cable and broadcast outlets across the globe.\r\n\r\nBeginning his professional life by drawing traditional political cartoons for newspapers, Fiore’s work appeared in publications ranging from the Washington Post to the Los Angeles Times. In the late 1990s, he began to experiment with animating political cartoons and, after a short stint at the San Jose Mercury News as their staff cartoonist, Fiore devoted all his energies to animation.\r\nGrowing up in California, Fiore also spent a good portion of his life in the backwoods of Idaho. It was this combination that shaped him politically. Mark majored in political science at Colorado College, where, in a perfect send-off for a cartoonist, he received his diploma in 1991 as commencement speaker Dick Cheney smiled approvingly.\r\nMark Fiore was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for political cartooning in 2010, a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in 2004 and has twice received an Online Journalism Award for commentary from the Online News Association (2002, 2008). Fiore has received two awards for his work in new media from the National Cartoonists Society (2001, 2002), and in 2006 received The James Madison Freedom of Information Award from The Society of Professional Journalists.","avatar":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/fc4e2a612b15b67bad0c6f0e1db4ca9b?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twitter":"MarkFiore","facebook":null,"instagram":"https://www.instagram.com/markfiore/?hl=en","linkedin":null,"sites":[{"site":"arts","roles":["contributor"]},{"site":"news","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"futureofyou","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"science","roles":["editor"]}],"headData":{"title":"Mark Fiore | KQED","description":"KQED News Cartoonist","ogImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/fc4e2a612b15b67bad0c6f0e1db4ca9b?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/fc4e2a612b15b67bad0c6f0e1db4ca9b?s=600&d=blank&r=g"},"isLoading":false,"link":"/author/markfiore"},"fjhabvala":{"type":"authors","id":"8659","meta":{"index":"authors_1591205172","id":"8659","found":true},"name":"Farida Jhabvala Romero","firstName":"Farida","lastName":"Jhabvala Romero","slug":"fjhabvala","email":"fjhabvala@kqed.org","display_author_email":true,"staff_mastheads":["news"],"title":"KQED Contributor","bio":"\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farida Jhabvala Romero is a Labor Correspondent for KQED. She previously covered immigration. Farida was \u003ca href=\"https://www.ccnma.org/2022-most-influential-latina-journalists\">named\u003c/a> one of the 10 Most Influential Latina Journalists in California in 2022 by the California Chicano News Media Association. Her work has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists (Northern California), as well as a national and regional Edward M. Murrow Award for the collaborative reporting projects “Dangerous Air” and “Graying California.” \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before joining KQED, Farida worked as a producer at Radio Bilingüe, a national public radio network. Farida earned her master’s degree in journalism from Stanford University.\u003c/span>","avatar":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c3ab27c5554b67b478f80971e515aa02?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twitter":"FaridaJhabvala","facebook":null,"instagram":null,"linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/faridajhabvala/","sites":[{"site":"news","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"stateofhealth","roles":["author"]}],"headData":{"title":"Farida Jhabvala Romero | KQED","description":"KQED Contributor","ogImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c3ab27c5554b67b478f80971e515aa02?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c3ab27c5554b67b478f80971e515aa02?s=600&d=blank&r=g"},"isLoading":false,"link":"/author/fjhabvala"},"kevinstark":{"type":"authors","id":"11608","meta":{"index":"authors_1591205172","id":"11608","found":true},"name":"Kevin Stark","firstName":"Kevin","lastName":"Stark","slug":"kevinstark","email":"kstark@kqed.org","display_author_email":true,"staff_mastheads":["science"],"title":"Senior Editor","bio":"Kevin is a senior editor for KQED Science, managing the station's health and climate desks. His journalism career began in the Pacific Northwest, and he later became a lead reporter for the San Francisco Public Press. His work has appeared in Pacific Standard magazine, the Energy News Network, the Center for Investigative Reporting's Reveal and WBEZ in Chicago. Kevin joined KQED in 2019, and has covered issues related to energy, wildfire, climate change and the environment.","avatar":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1f646bf546a63d638e04ff23b52b0e79?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twitter":"starkkev","facebook":null,"instagram":null,"linkedin":null,"sites":[{"site":"","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"news","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"science","roles":["administrator"]}],"headData":{"title":"Kevin Stark | KQED","description":"Senior Editor","ogImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1f646bf546a63d638e04ff23b52b0e79?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1f646bf546a63d638e04ff23b52b0e79?s=600&d=blank&r=g"},"isLoading":false,"link":"/author/kevinstark"},"amarkowitz":{"type":"authors","id":"11660","meta":{"index":"authors_1591205172","id":"11660","found":true},"name":"Ariella Markowitz","firstName":"Ariella","lastName":"Markowitz","slug":"amarkowitz","email":"amarkowitz@kqed.org","display_author_email":false,"staff_mastheads":[],"title":"KQED Contributor","bio":"Ariella is a former intern for the California Report Magazine. Before that, she helped mobilize freelance journalists with Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) and made radio features for KALW. Ariella loves investigative reporting, personal stories that interrogate power, and spicy vegan cooking.","avatar":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a49317e9a9fc1762b408b2ca90b38a13?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twitter":"ariellaudio","facebook":null,"instagram":null,"linkedin":null,"sites":[{"site":"news","roles":["subscriber"]},{"site":"forum","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"perspectives","roles":["administrator"]}],"headData":{"title":"Ariella Markowitz | KQED","description":"KQED Contributor","ogImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a49317e9a9fc1762b408b2ca90b38a13?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a49317e9a9fc1762b408b2ca90b38a13?s=600&d=blank&r=g"},"isLoading":false,"link":"/author/amarkowitz"}},"breakingNewsReducer":{},"campaignFinanceReducer":{},"firebase":{"requesting":{},"requested":{},"timestamps":{},"data":{},"ordered":{},"auth":{"isLoaded":false,"isEmpty":true},"authError":null,"profile":{"isLoaded":false,"isEmpty":true},"listeners":{"byId":{},"allIds":[]},"isInitializing":false,"errors":[]},"navBarReducer":{"navBarId":"news","fullView":true,"showPlayer":false},"navMenuReducer":{"menus":[{"key":"menu1","items":[{"name":"News","link":"/","type":"title"},{"name":"Politics","link":"/politics"},{"name":"Science","link":"/science"},{"name":"Education","link":"/educationnews"},{"name":"Housing","link":"/housing"},{"name":"Immigration","link":"/immigration"},{"name":"Criminal Justice","link":"/criminaljustice"},{"name":"Silicon Valley","link":"/siliconvalley"},{"name":"Forum","link":"/forum"},{"name":"The California Report","link":"/californiareport"}]},{"key":"menu2","items":[{"name":"Arts & Culture","link":"/arts","type":"title"},{"name":"Critics’ Picks","link":"/thedolist"},{"name":"Cultural Commentary","link":"/artscommentary"},{"name":"Food & Drink","link":"/food"},{"name":"Bay Area Hip-Hop","link":"/bayareahiphop"},{"name":"Rebel Girls","link":"/rebelgirls"},{"name":"Arts Video","link":"/artsvideos"}]},{"key":"menu3","items":[{"name":"Podcasts","link":"/podcasts","type":"title"},{"name":"Bay Curious","link":"/podcasts/baycurious"},{"name":"Rightnowish","link":"/podcasts/rightnowish"},{"name":"The Bay","link":"/podcasts/thebay"},{"name":"On Our Watch","link":"/podcasts/onourwatch"},{"name":"Mindshift","link":"/podcasts/mindshift"},{"name":"Consider This","link":"/podcasts/considerthis"},{"name":"Political Breakdown","link":"/podcasts/politicalbreakdown"}]},{"key":"menu4","items":[{"name":"Live Radio","link":"/radio","type":"title"},{"name":"TV","link":"/tv","type":"title"},{"name":"Events","link":"/events","type":"title"},{"name":"For Educators","link":"/education","type":"title"},{"name":"Support KQED","link":"/support","type":"title"},{"name":"About","link":"/about","type":"title"},{"name":"Help Center","link":"https://kqed-helpcenter.kqed.org/s","type":"title"}]}]},"pagesReducer":{},"postsReducer":{"stream_live":{"type":"live","id":"stream_live","audioUrl":"https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio","title":"Live Stream","excerpt":"Live Stream information currently unavailable.","link":"/radio","featImg":"","label":{"name":"KQED Live","link":"/"}},"stream_kqedNewscast":{"type":"posts","id":"stream_kqedNewscast","audioUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1","title":"KQED Newscast","featImg":"","label":{"name":"88.5 FM","link":"/"}},"news_11923117":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11923117","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11923117","score":null,"sort":[1661201817000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"an-untapped-pool-of-talent-why-isnt-california-hiring-more-formerly-incarcerated-firefighters","title":"'An Untapped Pool of Talent': Why Isn't California Hiring More Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters?","publishDate":1661201817,"format":"standard","headTitle":"KQED News","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>As wildfires rage across California each year, often with increasing ferocity, exhausted firefighters call for reinforcements from wherever they can get them — even as far as Australia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet one homegrown resource is rarely used: thousands of experienced firefighters who earned their chops in prison. Two state programs designed to get more formerly incarcerated firefighters hired professionally have barely made a dent, according to an Associated Press review. One of them, a $30 million effort, has netted jobs for just over 100 firefighters, accounting for little more than one-third of those enrolled in the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clad in distinctive orange uniforms, scores of incarcerated crews fan out across the state each summer and fall to protect multimillion-dollar homes by cutting brush and trees with chain saws and scraping the earth to create barriers they hope will stop flames. For that sometimes life-threatening labor, most are paid just a few dollars a day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once freed from prison, however, the formerly incarcerated have trouble getting hired professionally because of their criminal records, despite a first-in-the-nation, 18-month-old law designed to ease their way and a four-year-old training program that cost taxpayers at least $180,000 per graduate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Genevieve Rimer, Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program\"]'Thousands of people are coming back from California's fire camps annually. They have already been trained. They have a desire to go and put their lives on the line in order to ensure public safety.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s absolutely an untapped pool of talent,\" said Genevieve Rimer, director of supportive services at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.forestryfirerp.org/about-us\">Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program\u003c/a>, where she helps formerly incarcerated people try to clear their records. “Thousands of people are coming back from California’s fire camps annually. They have already been trained. They have a desire to go and put their lives on the line in order to ensure public safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is hardly alone in needing seasoned firefighters, but the nation's most populous state faces different challenges from other more sparsely settled Western regions. A wildfire that nearly leveled the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Paradise nearly four years ago, for instance, was \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-business-environment-and-nature-gavin-newsom-paradise-dbae2ef725b32d91ff4c612de38f01e2\">the nation’s deadliest wildfire in nearly a century\u003c/a>, killing 85 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6/4/645ad1b0-4842-4fe7-855e-f4d51239bdd0/380BFCC77F96A54AF618DCA07EDA2923.final-letter---firefighter-salaries-07.19.22.pdf\">U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department are short about 1,650 firefighters\u003c/a>, nearly 650 of them in California, according to Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, in a recent letter to Biden administration officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the California legislation in 2020, which \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB2147\">allows people who were formerly incarcerated for mostly nonviolent offenses to seek to withdraw guilty pleas or overturn convictions\u003c/a>. A judge can then dismiss those charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the law took effect, the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, started by \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-california-forests-fires-ac38905f8f1edaf0f63ac04eedc8a683\">two formerly incarcerated firefighters\u003c/a>, has worked with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles to help other formerly incarcerated people clear their records and get hired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet they have only been able to file 34 petitions, and just 12 had records expunged during what the program warns “can be a long and drawn out process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashleigh Dennis, one of at least three attorneys filing expungement petitions through the Oakland-based advocacy group \u003ca href=\"https://live-rootandrebound.pantheonsite.io/\">Root & Rebound\u003c/a>, said she has only been able to file 23 requests, of which just 14 have been granted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among \u003ca href=\"https://roadmap.rootandrebound.org/understanding-cleaning-up-your-criminal-record/expungement-appendix/petition-for-dismissal-california-expungement/\">other hurdles\u003c/a>, applicants must demonstrate to a judge that they have been rehabilitated. Furthermore, the expungement only applies to the specific convictions that led to their firefighting duties while incarcerated. Many people have unrelated convictions that must be separately expunged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's been a learning curve to educate judges about the law and get the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to speed up the court certification process, said Dennis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Da’Ton Harris Jr. can attest to that. His record was finally cleared in August, about 18 months after starting the process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m out here, a public servant, risking my life every day to try and better my community,\" said Harris. “I don’t think it was a smooth transaction at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite his record, Harris obtained firefighting jobs with the U.S. Forest Service, the state's firefighting agency Cal Fire, and the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But his initial advancement was limited because his criminal record made him ineligible for an emergency medical technician (EMT) certification, an obstacle that disappeared with the expungement. Outside of temporary federal and state firefighting agency jobs, most fire departments require applicants to be licensed EMTs — a certification the state bans certain incarcerated people from obtaining because \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/memoranda/2022/06/09/21-15414.pdf\">the job comes with access to narcotics and sharp objects\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"inmate-firefighters\"]Rimer, of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, said California should automatically expunge records of eligible formerly incarcerated people, much as it does for those convicted of antiquated marijuana crimes. And, she added, it should include their entire criminal record.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it spearheaded opportunity for people, but I don’t think it’s good enough,” she said of the current expungement law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law's author, Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes, a Democrat from San Bernardino, has been struggling ever since the measure took effect to find out how many formerly incarcerated people it has helped. She said many beneficiaries of the program have contacted her office to praise “the life-changing impact of the legislation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/fire_camp_expungement/\">CDCR informs eligible incarcerated people about the law\u003c/a> but doesn't track expungements, said department spokesperson Tessa Outhyse. Cal Fire, the court system and the state Department of Justice also couldn't say how many have had their records expunged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In another effort, California in 2018 created a training program to help formerly incarcerated people get hired professionally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 18-month program is run by Cal Fire, the California Conservation Corps, the state corrections department and the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://antirecidivism.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ARC-Brochure_Digital.11.30.2020.pdf\">Anti-Recidivism Coalition\u003c/a> at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/ventura/\">Ventura Training Center\u003c/a> northwest of Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Participants spend six months on life skills and \u003ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/727783253/727783253\">firefighter training\u003c/a> and the next year fighting or preventing fires and doing other community service, for which they are paid $1,905 a month. The center has 60 participants, working on four fire crews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In four years the program has cost over $29.5 million, but has had just 106 graduates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly all found a professional job: Ninety-eight are with Cal Fire, and three are with other agencies, including the Orange County Fire Authority and the U.S. Forest Service, according to CDCR officials. Cal Fire provided slightly different figures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they're the fortunate ones among the 277 who have participated since the program's inception. Another 111 participants, or 40%, left before completing the program, said Outhyse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change is making wildfires more frequent and destructive, so the shortage comes at a time when demand for wildfire crews is on the rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the state is turning more to professional wildland firefighters, largely because incarcerated crews are less available due to the growing number of lower-level incarcerated people who have been released early in recent years — the result of voter initiatives and measures to stem COVID outbreaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This August, about 1,670 incarcerated people are in fire camps, doing work such as cooking and laundry, down about 40% from August 2019. CDCR was budgeted for 152 crews this year, but fielded just 51, each with about 15 to 18 firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With fewer incarcerated crews, California is relying more on other agencies, including the conservation corps, and is creating what officials are calling the first all-hazards fire engine strike team, which is \u003ca href=\"https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mvyd6pym4n4hjpv/AABtto7DN7qMd4u7FpQjiNkXa?dl=0&preview=TRANSFER+AT+MATHER++VIDEO.mp4\">operated by a state National Guard unit\u003c/a>, and can respond both to wildfires and urban blazes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve recognized for a few years now that due to early release, due to COVID, a number of other reasons, we have to do something,” said Battalion Chief Isaac Sanchez, a Cal Fire spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">An earlier version of this story misstated the U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department firefighter shortage in California. It is about 650, not 1,000.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Gabe Stern, of The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this story from Reno, Nevada.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Despite the urgent demand, two California programs designed to get more formerly incarcerated firefighters hired professionally have barely made a dent.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1661209230,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":36,"wordCount":1397},"headData":{"title":"'An Untapped Pool of Talent': Why Isn't California Hiring More Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters? | KQED","description":"Despite the urgent demand, two California programs designed to get more formerly incarcerated firefighters hired professionally have barely made a dent.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"'An Untapped Pool of Talent': Why Isn't California Hiring More Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters?","datePublished":"2022-08-22T20:56:57.000Z","dateModified":"2022-08-22T23:00:30.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"disqusIdentifier":"11923117 https://ww2.kqed.org/news/?p=11923117","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2022/08/22/an-untapped-pool-of-talent-why-isnt-california-hiring-more-formerly-incarcerated-firefighters/","disqusTitle":"'An Untapped Pool of Talent': Why Isn't California Hiring More Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters?","nprByline":"Don Thompson\u003cbr>Associated Press","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","path":"/news/11923117/an-untapped-pool-of-talent-why-isnt-california-hiring-more-formerly-incarcerated-firefighters","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As wildfires rage across California each year, often with increasing ferocity, exhausted firefighters call for reinforcements from wherever they can get them — even as far as Australia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet one homegrown resource is rarely used: thousands of experienced firefighters who earned their chops in prison. Two state programs designed to get more formerly incarcerated firefighters hired professionally have barely made a dent, according to an Associated Press review. One of them, a $30 million effort, has netted jobs for just over 100 firefighters, accounting for little more than one-third of those enrolled in the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clad in distinctive orange uniforms, scores of incarcerated crews fan out across the state each summer and fall to protect multimillion-dollar homes by cutting brush and trees with chain saws and scraping the earth to create barriers they hope will stop flames. For that sometimes life-threatening labor, most are paid just a few dollars a day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once freed from prison, however, the formerly incarcerated have trouble getting hired professionally because of their criminal records, despite a first-in-the-nation, 18-month-old law designed to ease their way and a four-year-old training program that cost taxpayers at least $180,000 per graduate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"'Thousands of people are coming back from California's fire camps annually. They have already been trained. They have a desire to go and put their lives on the line in order to ensure public safety.'","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"align":"right","size":"medium","citation":"Genevieve Rimer, Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s absolutely an untapped pool of talent,\" said Genevieve Rimer, director of supportive services at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.forestryfirerp.org/about-us\">Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program\u003c/a>, where she helps formerly incarcerated people try to clear their records. “Thousands of people are coming back from California’s fire camps annually. They have already been trained. They have a desire to go and put their lives on the line in order to ensure public safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is hardly alone in needing seasoned firefighters, but the nation's most populous state faces different challenges from other more sparsely settled Western regions. A wildfire that nearly leveled the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Paradise nearly four years ago, for instance, was \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-business-environment-and-nature-gavin-newsom-paradise-dbae2ef725b32d91ff4c612de38f01e2\">the nation’s deadliest wildfire in nearly a century\u003c/a>, killing 85 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6/4/645ad1b0-4842-4fe7-855e-f4d51239bdd0/380BFCC77F96A54AF618DCA07EDA2923.final-letter---firefighter-salaries-07.19.22.pdf\">U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department are short about 1,650 firefighters\u003c/a>, nearly 650 of them in California, according to Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, in a recent letter to Biden administration officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the California legislation in 2020, which \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB2147\">allows people who were formerly incarcerated for mostly nonviolent offenses to seek to withdraw guilty pleas or overturn convictions\u003c/a>. A judge can then dismiss those charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the law took effect, the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, started by \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-california-forests-fires-ac38905f8f1edaf0f63ac04eedc8a683\">two formerly incarcerated firefighters\u003c/a>, has worked with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles to help other formerly incarcerated people clear their records and get hired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet they have only been able to file 34 petitions, and just 12 had records expunged during what the program warns “can be a long and drawn out process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashleigh Dennis, one of at least three attorneys filing expungement petitions through the Oakland-based advocacy group \u003ca href=\"https://live-rootandrebound.pantheonsite.io/\">Root & Rebound\u003c/a>, said she has only been able to file 23 requests, of which just 14 have been granted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among \u003ca href=\"https://roadmap.rootandrebound.org/understanding-cleaning-up-your-criminal-record/expungement-appendix/petition-for-dismissal-california-expungement/\">other hurdles\u003c/a>, applicants must demonstrate to a judge that they have been rehabilitated. Furthermore, the expungement only applies to the specific convictions that led to their firefighting duties while incarcerated. Many people have unrelated convictions that must be separately expunged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's been a learning curve to educate judges about the law and get the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to speed up the court certification process, said Dennis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Da’Ton Harris Jr. can attest to that. His record was finally cleared in August, about 18 months after starting the process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m out here, a public servant, risking my life every day to try and better my community,\" said Harris. “I don’t think it was a smooth transaction at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite his record, Harris obtained firefighting jobs with the U.S. Forest Service, the state's firefighting agency Cal Fire, and the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But his initial advancement was limited because his criminal record made him ineligible for an emergency medical technician (EMT) certification, an obstacle that disappeared with the expungement. Outside of temporary federal and state firefighting agency jobs, most fire departments require applicants to be licensed EMTs — a certification the state bans certain incarcerated people from obtaining because \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/memoranda/2022/06/09/21-15414.pdf\">the job comes with access to narcotics and sharp objects\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"related coverage ","tag":"inmate-firefighters"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Rimer, of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, said California should automatically expunge records of eligible formerly incarcerated people, much as it does for those convicted of antiquated marijuana crimes. And, she added, it should include their entire criminal record.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it spearheaded opportunity for people, but I don’t think it’s good enough,” she said of the current expungement law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law's author, Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes, a Democrat from San Bernardino, has been struggling ever since the measure took effect to find out how many formerly incarcerated people it has helped. She said many beneficiaries of the program have contacted her office to praise “the life-changing impact of the legislation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/fire_camp_expungement/\">CDCR informs eligible incarcerated people about the law\u003c/a> but doesn't track expungements, said department spokesperson Tessa Outhyse. Cal Fire, the court system and the state Department of Justice also couldn't say how many have had their records expunged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In another effort, California in 2018 created a training program to help formerly incarcerated people get hired professionally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 18-month program is run by Cal Fire, the California Conservation Corps, the state corrections department and the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://antirecidivism.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ARC-Brochure_Digital.11.30.2020.pdf\">Anti-Recidivism Coalition\u003c/a> at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/ventura/\">Ventura Training Center\u003c/a> northwest of Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Participants spend six months on life skills and \u003ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/727783253/727783253\">firefighter training\u003c/a> and the next year fighting or preventing fires and doing other community service, for which they are paid $1,905 a month. The center has 60 participants, working on four fire crews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In four years the program has cost over $29.5 million, but has had just 106 graduates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly all found a professional job: Ninety-eight are with Cal Fire, and three are with other agencies, including the Orange County Fire Authority and the U.S. Forest Service, according to CDCR officials. Cal Fire provided slightly different figures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they're the fortunate ones among the 277 who have participated since the program's inception. Another 111 participants, or 40%, left before completing the program, said Outhyse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change is making wildfires more frequent and destructive, so the shortage comes at a time when demand for wildfire crews is on the rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the state is turning more to professional wildland firefighters, largely because incarcerated crews are less available due to the growing number of lower-level incarcerated people who have been released early in recent years — the result of voter initiatives and measures to stem COVID outbreaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This August, about 1,670 incarcerated people are in fire camps, doing work such as cooking and laundry, down about 40% from August 2019. CDCR was budgeted for 152 crews this year, but fielded just 51, each with about 15 to 18 firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With fewer incarcerated crews, California is relying more on other agencies, including the conservation corps, and is creating what officials are calling the first all-hazards fire engine strike team, which is \u003ca href=\"https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mvyd6pym4n4hjpv/AABtto7DN7qMd4u7FpQjiNkXa?dl=0&preview=TRANSFER+AT+MATHER++VIDEO.mp4\">operated by a state National Guard unit\u003c/a>, and can respond both to wildfires and urban blazes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve recognized for a few years now that due to early release, due to COVID, a number of other reasons, we have to do something,” said Battalion Chief Isaac Sanchez, a Cal Fire spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">An earlier version of this story misstated the U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department firefighter shortage in California. It is about 650, not 1,000.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Gabe Stern, of The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this story from Reno, Nevada.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11923117/an-untapped-pool-of-talent-why-isnt-california-hiring-more-formerly-incarcerated-firefighters","authors":["byline_news_11923117"],"categories":["news_19906","news_8"],"tags":["news_6383","news_20341","news_31491","news_21241","news_4463"],"featImg":"news_11923127","label":"news"},"news_11889263":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11889263","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11889263","score":null,"sort":[1632319232000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"california-firefighters-keep-getting-injured-during-training-and-some-have-died","title":"California's Firefighters Keep Getting Injured While Training. Some Have Died","publishDate":1632319232,"format":"standard","headTitle":"LAist | KQED News","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>Even as he lay dying on the side of a Southern California mountain — his lips blue, the color gone from his face — wildland firefighter Yaroslav Katkov wanted to push on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re getting to the top. We’re finishing,” his captain recalled Katkov saying after collapsing atop a ridge during a training hike in hot weather, according to state records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov’s speech was garbled. He tried to stand, but couldn’t find his footing. His body temperature was reaching dangerous levels. He was suffering from heat illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What happened on that sun-soaked July day in 2019 is one thread in a larger story about firefighter training in an era of intensifying heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the past 18 months, more than 150 firefighters were sickened by heat exposure while working for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a quarter of heat-related incidents — the largest category — involve firefighters who fell ill during routine training exercises, Columbia Journalism Investigations, KPCC and LAist found. Like Katkov, nearly all of these firefighters worked part time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889335\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1390px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889335 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration of a red firefighter helmet and goggles above five blurry white dots, on a black background.\" width=\"1390\" height=\"935\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration.jpg 1390w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-800x538.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-1020x686.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-160x108.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1390px) 100vw, 1390px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Interviews with current and former Cal Fire employees, medical personnel and wildland firefighting experts reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety during Cal Fire training activities. This is true especially for those who don’t work year-round, such as seasonal and incarcerated firefighters. \u003ccite>(Illustration by Alborz Kamalizad / Photography courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The incidents, documented in Cal Fire’s workplace-injury logs, were specifically classified as heat related and occurred between Jan. 1, 2020, and Aug. 3, 2021. CJI and LAist were unable to ascertain how typical the case numbers are. Cal Fire refused to say whether they were unusual or in line with annual totals for heat illnesses among workers over the past decade. The department declined to provide data that could put the numbers into a broader context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CJI and LAist compiled less comprehensive data from internal Cal Fire reports on employee training injuries dating back to 2001, in addition to other state records. These documents show at least 14 other incidents that bear what some experts say are hallmarks of heat-related illness. In five of these incidents, the firefighters died.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='large' align='right']Over the past 18 months, more than 150 firefighters were sickened by heat exposure while working for Cal Fire.[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the firefighters succumbed to injuries not on the fire line in some remote California wilderness, but during required training. Many were decked out in full wildland gear — wearing long-sleeve jackets, pants and helmets while carrying heavy tools — and doing activities meant to simulate wildfire fighting — taking short hikes into the woods, for instance, or laying hoses up a mountainside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All but one of the deaths occurred in temperatures ranging from 70 to 87 degrees. Four of the victims were incarcerated, participating in a state program meant to bolster firefighting forces that dates back to WWII.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts and federal workplace regulators agree that heat-related illnesses and deaths are 100% preventable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Interviews with current and former Cal Fire employees, medical personnel and wildland firefighting experts, a review of hundreds of pages of government records detailing firefighter injuries and deaths and an analysis of worker heat death cases reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety during Cal Fire training activities. This is true especially for those who don’t work year-round, such as seasonal and incarcerated firefighters. Combined, they make up about half of the agency’s nearly 10,000-strong firefighting force.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov’s death was exceptional in just how many institutional failures occurred during his hike, records show. But many of the other cases of heat-related injuries and deaths indicate the same underlying problems — a punitive culture that can endanger firefighters’ health, a lackluster physical screening process and an ineffective plan for building up firefighters’ tolerance for heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889384\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1380px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889384 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration composed of nine black-and-white squares that include images of the Lippe Hike, overlaid with a red outline of the trail.\" width=\"1380\" height=\"920\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration.jpg 1380w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1380px) 100vw, 1380px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov collapsed on his second lap of the 1.45 mile Lippe Hike in Fallbrook, California, a mountain town ringed by ranches just outside of Temecula. According to documents related to the hike, Katkov's captain ignored signs from Katkov of potential illness. \u003ccite>(Illustration by Alborz Kamalizad / Photography courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Warning signs\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>On the day of Katkov’s hike, Cal Fire officials later found that his captain, Joe Ekblad, had missed opportunities to act on several telltale signs of heat illness. Not until Katkov collapsed at the top of that ridge did Ekblad begin emergency procedures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The captain later explained he believed that they could cool Katkov down if they moved fast enough. They stripped off his jacket and drenched him in water. But it didn’t work. Katkov took several deep “gulpy breaths,” according to documents obtained from the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA. Still, Ekblad delayed calling for emergency help because he thought Katkov “would snap back out of it,” the records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Statement from Cal Fire\"]'[Cal Fire] vigorously rejects the notion that a punitive culture exists in relation to the fitness, safety, or wellbeing of our workforce.'[/pullquote]Katkov died of hyperthermia at a hospital the next day. Cal Fire demoted Ekblad. The department found he had “failed to identify a crew member … in physical and/mental distress.” Ekblad didn’t respond to requests for comment. Records show he told investigators that Katkov was a willing participant in the exercises.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire didn’t respond to several requests to interview the department’s head of safety. In a statement, it said it “vigorously rejects the notion that a punitive culture exists in relation to the fitness, safety, or wellbeing of our workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department says it trains all its firefighters — seasonal, incarcerated or otherwise — on the dangers associated with wildland firefighting, “including methods to prevent, recognize and respond to symptoms of heat related illnesses.” It described its efforts to combat heat-related injuries and deaths as “a partnership” with individual firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Each must do his/her part year-round to ensure that they are preparing for the upcoming fire season,” the department wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On July 28, 2019, Katkov embarked on a training exercise called the Lippe Hike, a 1.45-mile loop at Cal Fire’s Station 16 in Fallbrook, California, a mountain town ringed by ranches just outside of Temecula.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gavin Bledsoe, one of the station’s other fire captains, later told Cal/OSHA investigators that “he had concerns with Joe pushing Yaro hard,” and that Ekblad had pushed other firefighters without giving them enough time for breaks in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889386\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889386 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A view from Lippe Hike: several hills and a light cloudy sky.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Lippe Hike winds through the hills just behind Cal Fire Station 16 in northern San Diego County. \u003ccite>(Jacob Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to documents related to Ekblad’s demotion, the hike that preceded Katkov’s death had never been timed before that morning, and Bledsoe believed the standard for finishing it was set “specifically with Yaro in mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Joe has been pushing really hard to get Yaro to quit or up to his standards,” Bledsoe told Cal/OSHA investigators about the rookie firefighter who regularly hiked the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bledsoe didn’t respond to multiple phone calls and text messages seeking comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889397\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 427px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889397 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1.jpeg\" alt=\"A studio portrait of a man in a Cal Fire uniform smiling at the camera.\" width=\"427\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1.jpeg 427w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1-160x240.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cal Fire firefighter Yaroslav Katkov. Katkov died of hyperthermia at a hospital the day after embarking on a training exercise called the Lippe Hike. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Ashley Vallario)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A quarter-mile into the hike, seasonal firefighter Matthew Guerrero told investigators, Katkov was breathing heavily. At one point, as the hike wound from mountains alongside a road, Katkov was slow to move out of oncoming traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ekblad wrote in his notebook, “Road Hazard - Cognitive Question.” This was an early sign of heat illness that Ekblad ignored, Cal Fire documents show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trio completed the hike in about 40 minutes — 10 minutes slower than the time Ekblad had set for the station that morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We're gonna do it again. The first hike was unacceptable,” Ekblad said, according to the Cal/OSHA investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ekblad later told the agency’s investigators that doing the hike twice wasn’t standard practice. Cal Fire concluded that it was “clearly unnecessary” given the signs of distress Katkov had exhibited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trio rested for 20 minutes, drank some water and set off to do the hike again. By then, the temperature had climbed to nearly 88 degrees — five degrees hotter than the 40-year average for the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the steep, often-shadeless path, Katkov told Ekblad he was exhausted — another symptom of heat illness that Ekblad should have recognized, Cal Fire documents said. Rather than seek emergency care, however, the captain encouraged both firefighters to press on, and they pushed up the hill. Guerrero helped steady Katkov’s balance, but Katkov stumbled and had to pause at least 20 times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atop the 650-foot ridge, Katkov fell forward and sat down. Ekblad told him to take off some of his wildland gear, and Guerrero tried to shade him with a jacket. They poured water on him, but his eyes rolled back. He eventually passed out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly an hour after starting the hike a second time, Ekblad called for help. Katkov began to shake uncontrollably. It took another hour for an air ambulance to get to the remote location and transport Katkov to Temecula Valley Hospital. He died the next day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA inspectors found that Cal Fire:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Hadn’t provided enough water or shade on the hike.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Failed to monitor Katkov for preexisting sensitivities to heat.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Didn’t prepare Katkov for the intensity of the job, as required under Cal Fire’s heat-illness prevention plan.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Didn’t initiate an emergency medical response until it was too late.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA fined the department $80,875 — almost five times the average Cal/OSHA fine of $17,000 for all types of cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A 'toughness mentality'\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Ashley Vallario, Katkov’s longtime girlfriend, said she was shocked after reading the investigation. It was clear that Cal Fire hadn’t done everything it should have done to protect Katkov, she said. Its safeguards against workplace heat appear to have failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They told me that everything that could have been done was done, and that there was no waste of time,” Vallario said. “I believed them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire didn’t respond to written questions about Katkov’s death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889399\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11889399\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A sign that reads, 'Cal Fire De Luz Station 16' next to a country road.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1696\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-800x530.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-2048x1357.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1920x1272.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov worked at Cal Fire De Luz Station 16 located in the hills just outside of Temecula.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rank matters at Cal Fire. Impressing superiors can help a seasonal firefighter move on to a coveted full-time spot. But a tough paramilitary culture often pushes Cal Fire employees to their physical limits, even in hot temperatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many cases, that culture has contributed to serious heat-related injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2013, for instance, a Cal Fire firefighter was at a “rehire” training session in Riverside, meant for seasonal employees about to rejoin their crews. He and the other trainees were forced to do “extra rigorous” exercises after someone had arrived late, according to a Cal/OSHA investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the group practiced a simulated fire attack, the firefighter complained about feeling ill and asked his supervisor if he could take off his jacket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The instructor said no and told the firefighter to sit down in the sun, the records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11886628\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/RS50596_019_SanFrancisco_HeatWaveImpacts_08062021-qut-1020x680.jpg\"]About 10 minutes later, a colleague reported that the firefighter did “not look good.” His legs cramped, and he was gasping for breath — both symptoms of heat illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter was hospitalized for two days, and Cal/OSHA fined the department $18,560 for violating California’s heat standard by failing to allow the employee to take an adequate rest break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a similar case in 2017, another Cal Fire firefighter was working in full wildland gear while moving a hose for a training exercise, according to Cal/OSHA records. After a break, a new instructor took over another round of the activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter later told Cal/OSHA that the work was more strenuous the second time, and that the instructor had “pushed the employee to do more.” The firefighter struggled to finish the task. He was so confused that he couldn’t answer questions, Cal/OSHA records show. An altered mental state is a red flag for heat illness, medical experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The instructor mocked the firefighter and suggested he “go to Orange County since their training is easier,” the inspector wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As in the earlier case, the firefighter spent two days in the hospital. Cal Fire was fined another $2,430 for failing to educate employees about heat’s threats and not providing ready access to water and shade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Robert Salgado, Former Cal/OSHA inspector and wildland firefighter\"]'We don’t want the smartest guy … we just want a guy who can throw on a pack and hike hills.'[/pullquote]Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie, who leads several fire stations based in San Diego, including Katkov’s former station, said the department is working to root out the “toughness” mentality that has pervaded its ranks. Some heat-related incidents “have been an unfortunate wake-up call that maybe that culture needs to change,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that may be difficult. Robert Salgado, a former Cal/OSHA inspector and wildland firefighter, notes that Cal Fire’s do-or-die attitude is one of the “very deep-rooted cultural practices in the fire service” that is passed from department to department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t want the smartest guy … we don’t want the most trained guy,” Salgado said. “We just want a guy who can throw on a pack and hike hills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire union president Tim Edwards of Local 2881 recalls a recent incident in which supervisors pushed firefighters in training activities beyond their limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll admit it, we had problems in San Diego in the last four months,” he said, explaining that one supervisor was warned about the way he was treating firefighters after a union member filed a complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supervisor was pushing firefighters to hike “when they weren’t feeling good,” Edwards said, “making them hike thinking if he pushed them a little bit further, it would help them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire, for its part, acknowledges that the department spoke with the supervisor but said he was not reprimanded. It describes the incident as an example of how the department and the union can work together to address potential health issues before they get worse.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>'Don't blame the firefighters'\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Another problem, insiders say, is that Cal Fire doesn’t have a physical fitness standard that makes clear what kind of shape seasonal and incarcerated firefighters must be in when they return to duty after months off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11836399\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/44642_transform-1.jpg\"]Without such a standard, firefighters may not realize they’re not fit enough until they’re on training hikes or in the field on hot days. At that point, it’s up to individual supervisors to say whether it’s a problem for any firefighter, and what that firefighter needs to do to improve. And that can make for trouble when those supervisors push their employees too hard, especially on hot days, to reach whatever level they deem correct, insiders say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edwards, of Cal Fire Local 2881, notes that the union has “been pushing for years to have a minimal physical fitness standard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the union wants seasonal firefighters to have their fitness tested over a week, with intense physical exercise and step-by-step goals to measure their progress. If they fail to pass those tests, he said, they could be set on a remedial path or let go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edwards blames the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for issues involving incarcerated firefighters. He argues that Cal Fire has little control over these abilities when they arrive at fire camps, even though the 11 heat-related incidents involving incarcerated people identified by CJI and LAist occurred during official Cal Fire trainings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Corrections Department said Cal Fire has always trained incarcerated firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, when a firefighter falls behind on fitness requirements, Cal Fire’s system leaves it up to individual stations to determine how that firefighter will move forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889391\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889391 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A line of firefighters wearing bright orange uniforms and carrying equipment walk alongside a forest in front of a firefighter wearing a traditional yellow uniform.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Incarcerated firefighters on a training hike with Cal Fire. Incarcerated individuals make up a big chunk of California's firefighters during wildfire season, but some firefighter union officials point out that incarcerated firefighters don't receive enough physical training from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation before they join a crew. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When firefighters are assigned to a crew for the season, they are allotted an hour each day for personal training, and given access to wellness coordinators and workout gear. Supervisors are required to sign off on each firefighter’s monthly progress as part of a “Physical Fitness Documentation Log.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In more than half of heat-illness cases examined by CJI and LAist, the firefighters didn’t have a fitness plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews with a Cal/OSHA investigator, some of Katkov’s former colleagues raised concerns about his physical fitness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Statement from Cal Fire\"]'Just as a runner cannot expect to run a marathon without months of preparation, a firefighter cannot show up for the beginning of fire season … without preparing their body for the tasks ahead.'[/pullquote]But Cal/OSHA found that Ekblad had not created a fitness plan or any documentation to measure Katkov’s progress, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its statement, Cal Fire said it has no control over its firefighters’ “fitness efforts, caffeine intake, eating habits, water intake, sun exposure, alcohol consumption, or other factors that may impact their ability to perform their job functions” when they are off-duty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can take weeks or months for firefighters to safely build up their fitness, and experts say it’s not something that can be forced with strenuous exercise in a short period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just as a runner cannot expect to run a marathon without months of preparation, a firefighter cannot show up for the beginning of fire season … without preparing their body for the tasks ahead,” Cal Fire said in its statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brent Ruby, a University of Montana professor who has studied the physical demands of wildland firefighting, said ad hoc training is not the ideal way to train because there’s “a tendency to try to push” new or young recruits. As these firefighters press on, he said, the strain on their body builds up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They hike faster, they produce more heat,” Ruby said, “but the environment is still bearing down on them and pushing back on them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Dr. Thomas Ferguson, Consultant for Cal Fire\"]'We've got to educate the supervisors to recognize that they need to pay attention to this.'[/pullquote]Dr. Thomas Ferguson, a consultant who says he reviews 8,000 medical files for Cal Fire each year, has seen how firefighters who are pushed too hard can get blamed for not meeting physical expectations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferguson told Cal/OSHA investigators that seasonal firefighters like Katkov are most vulnerable to heat illness. According to Cal/OSHA’s investigative file on Katkov’s death, Ferguson urged the department to adopt a fitness standard for seasonal and incarcerated firefighters partly for this reason.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don't blame the firefighters,” he said in a recent interview. “We've got to educate the supervisors to recognize that they need to pay attention to this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889395\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11889395\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two firefighters seem to be pulling a long hose through the forest.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Firefighters with Cal Fire San Diego practice a progressive hose lay during training. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Identifying the hidden risks\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Even before starting the job, Cal Fire’s health screening processes may miss conditions that could jeopardize firefighters’ lives, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seasonal and incarcerated firefighters get little more than a basic physical, which experts say doesn’t always screen for potentially problematic health conditions. That has had dire consequences on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2001, eight firefighters with underlying health problems have died during training — five of them likely from heat exposure, experts say. All of them were incarcerated except for Katkov. Four died from cardiovascular issues, such as heart attacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While not all of those cases were directly tied to heat, researchers say high temperatures often play a hidden role in injuries and deaths, especially in workers who have underlying or preexisting health conditions, such as heart or kidney disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire said its screening policy requires “an annual medical evaluation for all applicants and employees who are required to be medically cleared.” Tests intended to check for preexisting conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders and some cancers, are voluntary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent interview with CJI and LAist, Ferguson said Cal Fire has a hard time keeping up with the basic screenings for thousands of seasonal and incarcerated firefighters each year. “It’s an operational issue for them,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union’s Edwards goes further. “When the State of California is hiring a temporary employee, and this is just the sad truth of it, they're not going to want to invest a whole lot of time and money,” he said. “We don't agree with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not until age 40 that full-time Cal Fire employees are required to take heart and blood tests, according to the union. Seasonal firefighters are offered the opportunity, but it’s not mandatory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heart issues, which could be caught by more extensive tests, are among the preexisting conditions exacerbated by heat. When a firefighter dies, heat can be overlooked as the primary factor, creating a pattern of uneven enforcement, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='large' align='right']It’s not until age 40 that full-time Cal Fire employees are required to take heart and blood tests.[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April 2015, Raymond Araujo, a 37-year-old incarcerated man assigned to work in the Bautista Conservation Camp, set off on a training hike in Banning, California, about 30 miles from Palm Springs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Cal/OSHA records, Araujo covered two miles of steep terrain. The temperature reached 81 degrees — 10 degrees hotter for the area for that time of year. He stumbled during the exercise. His colleagues tried to carry him to the finish but eventually he lost his vision and fell to his knees. About an hour after the hike began, paramedics declared him dead, according to the records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11889336\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/RS50579_002_SanFrancisco_HeatWaveImpacts_08062021-qut-1-1020x680.jpg\"]A Cal/OSHA investigation named heat as a contributing factor in Araujo’s death, but the Riverside County coroner determined the cause was “hypertensive cardiovascular disease,” according to an autopsy report. Cal/OSHA’s medical unit, noting the preexisting condition, concluded that “it did not appear likely that a heat illness or other work-related illness or injury played any role in Araujo’s sudden death,” records show. The agency closed the case without issuing any citations for violating the state’s heat standard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Garrett Brown, a Cal/OSHA inspector from 1994 to 2014, investigated more than 100 work sites for heat issues. He reviewed the Araujo case at our request and said it was impossible to know why the agency chose not to address the heat standard violations. Despite that decision, Brown said the incident resembled many heat cases he had handled, in which workers suffered heart or kidney failure because of hot temperatures, and likely should’ve been handled as possible heat standard violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Cal/OSHA spokesperson defended the agency’s handling of Araujo’s death. “Cal/OSHA Enforcement relied on the Medical Unit's opinion,” the spokesperson, Frank Polizzi, wrote in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferguson isn’t the only one who’s raised concerns about Cal Fire’s health-screening process. During the Cal/OSHA investigation into Katkov’s death, Tammy Stout, manager of the Cal Fire medical unit, was blunt in her assessment of the process, explaining that she had received medical clearance even though she believed she was physically incapable of doing a firefighter’s job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire Captain Cesar Nerey put it simply. “You could get a better physical playing high school football than the one required by Cal Fire,” he told the Cal/OSHA investigator.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A gap in existing heat protections\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>There’s another concerning factor in how Cal Fire brings new firefighters onto the job: a lack of a department-wide regimented acclimatization plan that would ease employees into the heat. Instead, as with fitness training, Cal Fire leaves it up to individual stations to craft their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11886402\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1773-1020x680.jpg\"]Here’s why that matters. Acclimatization — building up a tolerance for heat — is a crucial part of training firefighters to operate in extreme conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Easing firefighters into the work in hot temperatures is widely viewed as one of the best ways to prevent heat illnesses and deaths. It should happen during a new or newly returned firefighter’s two weeks of training, health experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For nearly 25 years, since the death of a California firefighter from heat exposure while constructing a fire line in 1997, a federal agency has recommended the state follow specific protocols for acclimatization of firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The protocols, from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), call for:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>New employees working in heat no more than 20% of their first shift, with a daily increase of the same percentage until fully acclimated.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Experienced firefighters returning from an extended break working in heat more than 50% of the first day, with a gradual increase over the course of a week.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire said that it is considering those recommendations, but it “may not be achievable in all situations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department said following them “could cause issues in protecting the people and resources of California,” since firefighters often are thrust into emergency situations when a fire erupts and may come from areas across the state and be used to different climates. Cal Fire did not address non-emergency training scenarios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"science_1976705\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/09/MexicanCrew-Casimiro-1020x765.jpg\"]Some heat-related incidents have occurred early in a firefighter’s tenure and during training. Of all the incidents identified by CJI and LAist, records show at least 14 employees were sickened by heat at the Cal Fire training academy during their first weeks. Dozens more suffered from heat illnesses on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over a two-month period in the summer of 2014, three firefighters were hospitalized after they had trained in the heat. Two of these incidents occurred in the same week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA considers an acclimatization plan the pinnacle of heat awareness — indeed, it is one of the four pillars of heat safety in the state’s standard. Yet the agency leaves the details on how to acclimate employees up to individual employers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, Cal/OSHA said “the acclimatization period, when employees are introduced to high heat, is the most critical in terms of illness prevention.” The agency rarely cites employers for failing to acclimatize their employees, as compared to other heat-related violations, having done so only 68 times since 2015, as of July 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What can prevent a tragedy\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While heat continues to be an issue during Cal Fire training activities, a responsive supervisor can make the difference between life and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly a year after Katkov’s death, yet another firefighter came close to dying on a training hike in Mariposa, 150 miles east of San José. The firefighter had suffered leg cramps and vomited on the same trail just two weeks earlier, according to Cal Fire documents. A physician cleared him for work, but people with prior injuries can be more susceptible to heat stress, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a hike in July 2020, the temperature reached 87 degrees. According to Cal Fire records, the captain, who said he’d been aware of the firefighter’s medical issues, watched his progress during the 60-minute exercise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the firefighter gasped for breath, the captain implored him to slow down. When his legs cramped, a colleague helped him down a hill. The captain called an ambulance, and the crew gave him oxygen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Airlifted to a trauma center, the firefigher was treated for heat stroke and a heat-related condition known as rhabdomyolysis, which causes muscle tissue to break down and leak toxins into the blood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889393\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 623px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889393 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5.jpeg\" alt=\"A smiling couple in formal dress sit together at a table at a party.\" width=\"623\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5.jpeg 623w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5-160x107.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov with his longtime partner, Ashley Vallario. Vallario considered filing a lawsuit after Katkov's death but later decided against it. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Ashley Vallario)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ashley Vallario, Yaroslav Katkov’s partner, who considered filing a lawsuit but decided against it, still can’t understand why Katkov wasn’t given the same level of care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov was selfless, she said, someone who would help others even to his detriment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early in their relationship, Vallario remembers Katkov taking her on a date to pick up trash on the beach. Initially, that gave her pause, but she’s come to realize it was Katkov’s way of giving back. “It definitely made me, like, a better person,” Vallario said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since Katkov’s death, she has pushed Cal Fire to demand more of its leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You're supposed to have faith that those people would keep them safe,” she said. “It shows what kind of leadership that they're willing to allow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Brian Edwards reported this story as a fellow for Columbia Journalism Investigations, an investigative reporting unit at the Columbia Journalism School in New York, along with Jacob Margolis, a science reporter at KPCC and LAist, and a member of The California Newsroom.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This story was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Extensive interviews with current and former members of Cal Fire and reviews of hundreds of government records reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety that put at risk those who fight California's wildfires.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1632346272,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":117,"wordCount":5192},"headData":{"title":"California's Firefighters Keep Getting Injured While Training. Some Have Died | KQED","description":"Extensive interviews with current and former members of Cal Fire and reviews of hundreds of government records reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety that put at risk those who fight California's wildfires.","ogTitle":"California Firefighters Keep Getting Injured During Training and Some Have Lost Their Lives","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"California Firefighters Keep Getting Injured During Training and Some Have Lost Their Lives","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"California's Firefighters Keep Getting Injured While Training. Some Have Died","datePublished":"2021-09-22T14:00:32.000Z","dateModified":"2021-09-22T21:31:12.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"disqusIdentifier":"11889263 https://ww2.kqed.org/news/?p=11889263","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2021/09/22/california-firefighters-keep-getting-injured-during-training-and-some-have-died/","disqusTitle":"California's Firefighters Keep Getting Injured While Training. Some Have Died","source":"The California Newsroom","nprByline":"Brian Edwards and Jacob Margolis","path":"/news/11889263/california-firefighters-keep-getting-injured-during-training-and-some-have-died","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Even as he lay dying on the side of a Southern California mountain — his lips blue, the color gone from his face — wildland firefighter Yaroslav Katkov wanted to push on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re getting to the top. We’re finishing,” his captain recalled Katkov saying after collapsing atop a ridge during a training hike in hot weather, according to state records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov’s speech was garbled. He tried to stand, but couldn’t find his footing. His body temperature was reaching dangerous levels. He was suffering from heat illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What happened on that sun-soaked July day in 2019 is one thread in a larger story about firefighter training in an era of intensifying heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the past 18 months, more than 150 firefighters were sickened by heat exposure while working for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a quarter of heat-related incidents — the largest category — involve firefighters who fell ill during routine training exercises, Columbia Journalism Investigations, KPCC and LAist found. Like Katkov, nearly all of these firefighters worked part time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889335\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1390px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889335 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration of a red firefighter helmet and goggles above five blurry white dots, on a black background.\" width=\"1390\" height=\"935\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration.jpg 1390w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-800x538.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-1020x686.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-160x108.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1390px) 100vw, 1390px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Interviews with current and former Cal Fire employees, medical personnel and wildland firefighting experts reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety during Cal Fire training activities. This is true especially for those who don’t work year-round, such as seasonal and incarcerated firefighters. \u003ccite>(Illustration by Alborz Kamalizad / Photography courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The incidents, documented in Cal Fire’s workplace-injury logs, were specifically classified as heat related and occurred between Jan. 1, 2020, and Aug. 3, 2021. CJI and LAist were unable to ascertain how typical the case numbers are. Cal Fire refused to say whether they were unusual or in line with annual totals for heat illnesses among workers over the past decade. The department declined to provide data that could put the numbers into a broader context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CJI and LAist compiled less comprehensive data from internal Cal Fire reports on employee training injuries dating back to 2001, in addition to other state records. These documents show at least 14 other incidents that bear what some experts say are hallmarks of heat-related illness. In five of these incidents, the firefighters died.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"Over the past 18 months, more than 150 firefighters were sickened by heat exposure while working for Cal Fire.","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"large","align":"right","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the firefighters succumbed to injuries not on the fire line in some remote California wilderness, but during required training. Many were decked out in full wildland gear — wearing long-sleeve jackets, pants and helmets while carrying heavy tools — and doing activities meant to simulate wildfire fighting — taking short hikes into the woods, for instance, or laying hoses up a mountainside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All but one of the deaths occurred in temperatures ranging from 70 to 87 degrees. Four of the victims were incarcerated, participating in a state program meant to bolster firefighting forces that dates back to WWII.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts and federal workplace regulators agree that heat-related illnesses and deaths are 100% preventable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Interviews with current and former Cal Fire employees, medical personnel and wildland firefighting experts, a review of hundreds of pages of government records detailing firefighter injuries and deaths and an analysis of worker heat death cases reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety during Cal Fire training activities. This is true especially for those who don’t work year-round, such as seasonal and incarcerated firefighters. Combined, they make up about half of the agency’s nearly 10,000-strong firefighting force.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov’s death was exceptional in just how many institutional failures occurred during his hike, records show. But many of the other cases of heat-related injuries and deaths indicate the same underlying problems — a punitive culture that can endanger firefighters’ health, a lackluster physical screening process and an ineffective plan for building up firefighters’ tolerance for heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889384\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1380px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889384 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration composed of nine black-and-white squares that include images of the Lippe Hike, overlaid with a red outline of the trail.\" width=\"1380\" height=\"920\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration.jpg 1380w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1380px) 100vw, 1380px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov collapsed on his second lap of the 1.45 mile Lippe Hike in Fallbrook, California, a mountain town ringed by ranches just outside of Temecula. According to documents related to the hike, Katkov's captain ignored signs from Katkov of potential illness. \u003ccite>(Illustration by Alborz Kamalizad / Photography courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Warning signs\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>On the day of Katkov’s hike, Cal Fire officials later found that his captain, Joe Ekblad, had missed opportunities to act on several telltale signs of heat illness. Not until Katkov collapsed at the top of that ridge did Ekblad begin emergency procedures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The captain later explained he believed that they could cool Katkov down if they moved fast enough. They stripped off his jacket and drenched him in water. But it didn’t work. Katkov took several deep “gulpy breaths,” according to documents obtained from the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA. Still, Ekblad delayed calling for emergency help because he thought Katkov “would snap back out of it,” the records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"'[Cal Fire] vigorously rejects the notion that a punitive culture exists in relation to the fitness, safety, or wellbeing of our workforce.'","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"align":"right","size":"medium","citation":"Statement from Cal Fire","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Katkov died of hyperthermia at a hospital the next day. Cal Fire demoted Ekblad. The department found he had “failed to identify a crew member … in physical and/mental distress.” Ekblad didn’t respond to requests for comment. Records show he told investigators that Katkov was a willing participant in the exercises.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire didn’t respond to several requests to interview the department’s head of safety. In a statement, it said it “vigorously rejects the notion that a punitive culture exists in relation to the fitness, safety, or wellbeing of our workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department says it trains all its firefighters — seasonal, incarcerated or otherwise — on the dangers associated with wildland firefighting, “including methods to prevent, recognize and respond to symptoms of heat related illnesses.” It described its efforts to combat heat-related injuries and deaths as “a partnership” with individual firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Each must do his/her part year-round to ensure that they are preparing for the upcoming fire season,” the department wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On July 28, 2019, Katkov embarked on a training exercise called the Lippe Hike, a 1.45-mile loop at Cal Fire’s Station 16 in Fallbrook, California, a mountain town ringed by ranches just outside of Temecula.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gavin Bledsoe, one of the station’s other fire captains, later told Cal/OSHA investigators that “he had concerns with Joe pushing Yaro hard,” and that Ekblad had pushed other firefighters without giving them enough time for breaks in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889386\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889386 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A view from Lippe Hike: several hills and a light cloudy sky.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Lippe Hike winds through the hills just behind Cal Fire Station 16 in northern San Diego County. \u003ccite>(Jacob Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to documents related to Ekblad’s demotion, the hike that preceded Katkov’s death had never been timed before that morning, and Bledsoe believed the standard for finishing it was set “specifically with Yaro in mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Joe has been pushing really hard to get Yaro to quit or up to his standards,” Bledsoe told Cal/OSHA investigators about the rookie firefighter who regularly hiked the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bledsoe didn’t respond to multiple phone calls and text messages seeking comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889397\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 427px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889397 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1.jpeg\" alt=\"A studio portrait of a man in a Cal Fire uniform smiling at the camera.\" width=\"427\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1.jpeg 427w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1-160x240.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cal Fire firefighter Yaroslav Katkov. Katkov died of hyperthermia at a hospital the day after embarking on a training exercise called the Lippe Hike. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Ashley Vallario)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A quarter-mile into the hike, seasonal firefighter Matthew Guerrero told investigators, Katkov was breathing heavily. At one point, as the hike wound from mountains alongside a road, Katkov was slow to move out of oncoming traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ekblad wrote in his notebook, “Road Hazard - Cognitive Question.” This was an early sign of heat illness that Ekblad ignored, Cal Fire documents show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trio completed the hike in about 40 minutes — 10 minutes slower than the time Ekblad had set for the station that morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We're gonna do it again. The first hike was unacceptable,” Ekblad said, according to the Cal/OSHA investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ekblad later told the agency’s investigators that doing the hike twice wasn’t standard practice. Cal Fire concluded that it was “clearly unnecessary” given the signs of distress Katkov had exhibited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trio rested for 20 minutes, drank some water and set off to do the hike again. By then, the temperature had climbed to nearly 88 degrees — five degrees hotter than the 40-year average for the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the steep, often-shadeless path, Katkov told Ekblad he was exhausted — another symptom of heat illness that Ekblad should have recognized, Cal Fire documents said. Rather than seek emergency care, however, the captain encouraged both firefighters to press on, and they pushed up the hill. Guerrero helped steady Katkov’s balance, but Katkov stumbled and had to pause at least 20 times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atop the 650-foot ridge, Katkov fell forward and sat down. Ekblad told him to take off some of his wildland gear, and Guerrero tried to shade him with a jacket. They poured water on him, but his eyes rolled back. He eventually passed out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly an hour after starting the hike a second time, Ekblad called for help. Katkov began to shake uncontrollably. It took another hour for an air ambulance to get to the remote location and transport Katkov to Temecula Valley Hospital. He died the next day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA inspectors found that Cal Fire:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Hadn’t provided enough water or shade on the hike.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Failed to monitor Katkov for preexisting sensitivities to heat.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Didn’t prepare Katkov for the intensity of the job, as required under Cal Fire’s heat-illness prevention plan.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Didn’t initiate an emergency medical response until it was too late.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA fined the department $80,875 — almost five times the average Cal/OSHA fine of $17,000 for all types of cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A 'toughness mentality'\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Ashley Vallario, Katkov’s longtime girlfriend, said she was shocked after reading the investigation. It was clear that Cal Fire hadn’t done everything it should have done to protect Katkov, she said. Its safeguards against workplace heat appear to have failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They told me that everything that could have been done was done, and that there was no waste of time,” Vallario said. “I believed them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire didn’t respond to written questions about Katkov’s death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889399\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11889399\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A sign that reads, 'Cal Fire De Luz Station 16' next to a country road.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1696\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-800x530.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-2048x1357.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1920x1272.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov worked at Cal Fire De Luz Station 16 located in the hills just outside of Temecula.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rank matters at Cal Fire. Impressing superiors can help a seasonal firefighter move on to a coveted full-time spot. But a tough paramilitary culture often pushes Cal Fire employees to their physical limits, even in hot temperatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many cases, that culture has contributed to serious heat-related injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2013, for instance, a Cal Fire firefighter was at a “rehire” training session in Riverside, meant for seasonal employees about to rejoin their crews. He and the other trainees were forced to do “extra rigorous” exercises after someone had arrived late, according to a Cal/OSHA investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the group practiced a simulated fire attack, the firefighter complained about feeling ill and asked his supervisor if he could take off his jacket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The instructor said no and told the firefighter to sit down in the sun, the records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11886628","hero":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/RS50596_019_SanFrancisco_HeatWaveImpacts_08062021-qut-1020x680.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>About 10 minutes later, a colleague reported that the firefighter did “not look good.” His legs cramped, and he was gasping for breath — both symptoms of heat illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter was hospitalized for two days, and Cal/OSHA fined the department $18,560 for violating California’s heat standard by failing to allow the employee to take an adequate rest break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a similar case in 2017, another Cal Fire firefighter was working in full wildland gear while moving a hose for a training exercise, according to Cal/OSHA records. After a break, a new instructor took over another round of the activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter later told Cal/OSHA that the work was more strenuous the second time, and that the instructor had “pushed the employee to do more.” The firefighter struggled to finish the task. He was so confused that he couldn’t answer questions, Cal/OSHA records show. An altered mental state is a red flag for heat illness, medical experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The instructor mocked the firefighter and suggested he “go to Orange County since their training is easier,” the inspector wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As in the earlier case, the firefighter spent two days in the hospital. Cal Fire was fined another $2,430 for failing to educate employees about heat’s threats and not providing ready access to water and shade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"'We don’t want the smartest guy … we just want a guy who can throw on a pack and hike hills.'","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"align":"right","size":"medium","citation":"Robert Salgado, Former Cal/OSHA inspector and wildland firefighter","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie, who leads several fire stations based in San Diego, including Katkov’s former station, said the department is working to root out the “toughness” mentality that has pervaded its ranks. Some heat-related incidents “have been an unfortunate wake-up call that maybe that culture needs to change,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that may be difficult. Robert Salgado, a former Cal/OSHA inspector and wildland firefighter, notes that Cal Fire’s do-or-die attitude is one of the “very deep-rooted cultural practices in the fire service” that is passed from department to department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t want the smartest guy … we don’t want the most trained guy,” Salgado said. “We just want a guy who can throw on a pack and hike hills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire union president Tim Edwards of Local 2881 recalls a recent incident in which supervisors pushed firefighters in training activities beyond their limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll admit it, we had problems in San Diego in the last four months,” he said, explaining that one supervisor was warned about the way he was treating firefighters after a union member filed a complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supervisor was pushing firefighters to hike “when they weren’t feeling good,” Edwards said, “making them hike thinking if he pushed them a little bit further, it would help them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire, for its part, acknowledges that the department spoke with the supervisor but said he was not reprimanded. It describes the incident as an example of how the department and the union can work together to address potential health issues before they get worse.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>'Don't blame the firefighters'\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Another problem, insiders say, is that Cal Fire doesn’t have a physical fitness standard that makes clear what kind of shape seasonal and incarcerated firefighters must be in when they return to duty after months off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11836399","hero":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/44642_transform-1.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Without such a standard, firefighters may not realize they’re not fit enough until they’re on training hikes or in the field on hot days. At that point, it’s up to individual supervisors to say whether it’s a problem for any firefighter, and what that firefighter needs to do to improve. And that can make for trouble when those supervisors push their employees too hard, especially on hot days, to reach whatever level they deem correct, insiders say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edwards, of Cal Fire Local 2881, notes that the union has “been pushing for years to have a minimal physical fitness standard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the union wants seasonal firefighters to have their fitness tested over a week, with intense physical exercise and step-by-step goals to measure their progress. If they fail to pass those tests, he said, they could be set on a remedial path or let go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edwards blames the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for issues involving incarcerated firefighters. He argues that Cal Fire has little control over these abilities when they arrive at fire camps, even though the 11 heat-related incidents involving incarcerated people identified by CJI and LAist occurred during official Cal Fire trainings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Corrections Department said Cal Fire has always trained incarcerated firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, when a firefighter falls behind on fitness requirements, Cal Fire’s system leaves it up to individual stations to determine how that firefighter will move forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889391\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889391 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A line of firefighters wearing bright orange uniforms and carrying equipment walk alongside a forest in front of a firefighter wearing a traditional yellow uniform.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Incarcerated firefighters on a training hike with Cal Fire. Incarcerated individuals make up a big chunk of California's firefighters during wildfire season, but some firefighter union officials point out that incarcerated firefighters don't receive enough physical training from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation before they join a crew. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When firefighters are assigned to a crew for the season, they are allotted an hour each day for personal training, and given access to wellness coordinators and workout gear. Supervisors are required to sign off on each firefighter’s monthly progress as part of a “Physical Fitness Documentation Log.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In more than half of heat-illness cases examined by CJI and LAist, the firefighters didn’t have a fitness plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews with a Cal/OSHA investigator, some of Katkov’s former colleagues raised concerns about his physical fitness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"'Just as a runner cannot expect to run a marathon without months of preparation, a firefighter cannot show up for the beginning of fire season … without preparing their body for the tasks ahead.'","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"align":"right","size":"medium","citation":"Statement from Cal Fire","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But Cal/OSHA found that Ekblad had not created a fitness plan or any documentation to measure Katkov’s progress, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its statement, Cal Fire said it has no control over its firefighters’ “fitness efforts, caffeine intake, eating habits, water intake, sun exposure, alcohol consumption, or other factors that may impact their ability to perform their job functions” when they are off-duty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can take weeks or months for firefighters to safely build up their fitness, and experts say it’s not something that can be forced with strenuous exercise in a short period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just as a runner cannot expect to run a marathon without months of preparation, a firefighter cannot show up for the beginning of fire season … without preparing their body for the tasks ahead,” Cal Fire said in its statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brent Ruby, a University of Montana professor who has studied the physical demands of wildland firefighting, said ad hoc training is not the ideal way to train because there’s “a tendency to try to push” new or young recruits. As these firefighters press on, he said, the strain on their body builds up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They hike faster, they produce more heat,” Ruby said, “but the environment is still bearing down on them and pushing back on them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"'We've got to educate the supervisors to recognize that they need to pay attention to this.'","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"align":"right","size":"medium","citation":"Dr. Thomas Ferguson, Consultant for Cal Fire","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Dr. Thomas Ferguson, a consultant who says he reviews 8,000 medical files for Cal Fire each year, has seen how firefighters who are pushed too hard can get blamed for not meeting physical expectations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferguson told Cal/OSHA investigators that seasonal firefighters like Katkov are most vulnerable to heat illness. According to Cal/OSHA’s investigative file on Katkov’s death, Ferguson urged the department to adopt a fitness standard for seasonal and incarcerated firefighters partly for this reason.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don't blame the firefighters,” he said in a recent interview. “We've got to educate the supervisors to recognize that they need to pay attention to this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889395\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11889395\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two firefighters seem to be pulling a long hose through the forest.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Firefighters with Cal Fire San Diego practice a progressive hose lay during training. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Identifying the hidden risks\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Even before starting the job, Cal Fire’s health screening processes may miss conditions that could jeopardize firefighters’ lives, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seasonal and incarcerated firefighters get little more than a basic physical, which experts say doesn’t always screen for potentially problematic health conditions. That has had dire consequences on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2001, eight firefighters with underlying health problems have died during training — five of them likely from heat exposure, experts say. All of them were incarcerated except for Katkov. Four died from cardiovascular issues, such as heart attacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While not all of those cases were directly tied to heat, researchers say high temperatures often play a hidden role in injuries and deaths, especially in workers who have underlying or preexisting health conditions, such as heart or kidney disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire said its screening policy requires “an annual medical evaluation for all applicants and employees who are required to be medically cleared.” Tests intended to check for preexisting conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders and some cancers, are voluntary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent interview with CJI and LAist, Ferguson said Cal Fire has a hard time keeping up with the basic screenings for thousands of seasonal and incarcerated firefighters each year. “It’s an operational issue for them,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union’s Edwards goes further. “When the State of California is hiring a temporary employee, and this is just the sad truth of it, they're not going to want to invest a whole lot of time and money,” he said. “We don't agree with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not until age 40 that full-time Cal Fire employees are required to take heart and blood tests, according to the union. Seasonal firefighters are offered the opportunity, but it’s not mandatory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heart issues, which could be caught by more extensive tests, are among the preexisting conditions exacerbated by heat. When a firefighter dies, heat can be overlooked as the primary factor, creating a pattern of uneven enforcement, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"It’s not until age 40 that full-time Cal Fire employees are required to take heart and blood tests.","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"large","align":"right","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April 2015, Raymond Araujo, a 37-year-old incarcerated man assigned to work in the Bautista Conservation Camp, set off on a training hike in Banning, California, about 30 miles from Palm Springs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Cal/OSHA records, Araujo covered two miles of steep terrain. The temperature reached 81 degrees — 10 degrees hotter for the area for that time of year. He stumbled during the exercise. His colleagues tried to carry him to the finish but eventually he lost his vision and fell to his knees. About an hour after the hike began, paramedics declared him dead, according to the records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11889336","hero":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/RS50579_002_SanFrancisco_HeatWaveImpacts_08062021-qut-1-1020x680.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A Cal/OSHA investigation named heat as a contributing factor in Araujo’s death, but the Riverside County coroner determined the cause was “hypertensive cardiovascular disease,” according to an autopsy report. Cal/OSHA’s medical unit, noting the preexisting condition, concluded that “it did not appear likely that a heat illness or other work-related illness or injury played any role in Araujo’s sudden death,” records show. The agency closed the case without issuing any citations for violating the state’s heat standard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Garrett Brown, a Cal/OSHA inspector from 1994 to 2014, investigated more than 100 work sites for heat issues. He reviewed the Araujo case at our request and said it was impossible to know why the agency chose not to address the heat standard violations. Despite that decision, Brown said the incident resembled many heat cases he had handled, in which workers suffered heart or kidney failure because of hot temperatures, and likely should’ve been handled as possible heat standard violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Cal/OSHA spokesperson defended the agency’s handling of Araujo’s death. “Cal/OSHA Enforcement relied on the Medical Unit's opinion,” the spokesperson, Frank Polizzi, wrote in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferguson isn’t the only one who’s raised concerns about Cal Fire’s health-screening process. During the Cal/OSHA investigation into Katkov’s death, Tammy Stout, manager of the Cal Fire medical unit, was blunt in her assessment of the process, explaining that she had received medical clearance even though she believed she was physically incapable of doing a firefighter’s job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire Captain Cesar Nerey put it simply. “You could get a better physical playing high school football than the one required by Cal Fire,” he told the Cal/OSHA investigator.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A gap in existing heat protections\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>There’s another concerning factor in how Cal Fire brings new firefighters onto the job: a lack of a department-wide regimented acclimatization plan that would ease employees into the heat. Instead, as with fitness training, Cal Fire leaves it up to individual stations to craft their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11886402","hero":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1773-1020x680.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Here’s why that matters. Acclimatization — building up a tolerance for heat — is a crucial part of training firefighters to operate in extreme conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Easing firefighters into the work in hot temperatures is widely viewed as one of the best ways to prevent heat illnesses and deaths. It should happen during a new or newly returned firefighter’s two weeks of training, health experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For nearly 25 years, since the death of a California firefighter from heat exposure while constructing a fire line in 1997, a federal agency has recommended the state follow specific protocols for acclimatization of firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The protocols, from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), call for:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>New employees working in heat no more than 20% of their first shift, with a daily increase of the same percentage until fully acclimated.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Experienced firefighters returning from an extended break working in heat more than 50% of the first day, with a gradual increase over the course of a week.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire said that it is considering those recommendations, but it “may not be achievable in all situations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department said following them “could cause issues in protecting the people and resources of California,” since firefighters often are thrust into emergency situations when a fire erupts and may come from areas across the state and be used to different climates. Cal Fire did not address non-emergency training scenarios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"science_1976705","hero":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/09/MexicanCrew-Casimiro-1020x765.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Some heat-related incidents have occurred early in a firefighter’s tenure and during training. Of all the incidents identified by CJI and LAist, records show at least 14 employees were sickened by heat at the Cal Fire training academy during their first weeks. Dozens more suffered from heat illnesses on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over a two-month period in the summer of 2014, three firefighters were hospitalized after they had trained in the heat. Two of these incidents occurred in the same week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA considers an acclimatization plan the pinnacle of heat awareness — indeed, it is one of the four pillars of heat safety in the state’s standard. Yet the agency leaves the details on how to acclimate employees up to individual employers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, Cal/OSHA said “the acclimatization period, when employees are introduced to high heat, is the most critical in terms of illness prevention.” The agency rarely cites employers for failing to acclimatize their employees, as compared to other heat-related violations, having done so only 68 times since 2015, as of July 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What can prevent a tragedy\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While heat continues to be an issue during Cal Fire training activities, a responsive supervisor can make the difference between life and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly a year after Katkov’s death, yet another firefighter came close to dying on a training hike in Mariposa, 150 miles east of San José. The firefighter had suffered leg cramps and vomited on the same trail just two weeks earlier, according to Cal Fire documents. A physician cleared him for work, but people with prior injuries can be more susceptible to heat stress, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a hike in July 2020, the temperature reached 87 degrees. According to Cal Fire records, the captain, who said he’d been aware of the firefighter’s medical issues, watched his progress during the 60-minute exercise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the firefighter gasped for breath, the captain implored him to slow down. When his legs cramped, a colleague helped him down a hill. The captain called an ambulance, and the crew gave him oxygen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Airlifted to a trauma center, the firefigher was treated for heat stroke and a heat-related condition known as rhabdomyolysis, which causes muscle tissue to break down and leak toxins into the blood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889393\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 623px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11889393 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5.jpeg\" alt=\"A smiling couple in formal dress sit together at a table at a party.\" width=\"623\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5.jpeg 623w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5-160x107.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov with his longtime partner, Ashley Vallario. Vallario considered filing a lawsuit after Katkov's death but later decided against it. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Ashley Vallario)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ashley Vallario, Yaroslav Katkov’s partner, who considered filing a lawsuit but decided against it, still can’t understand why Katkov wasn’t given the same level of care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov was selfless, she said, someone who would help others even to his detriment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early in their relationship, Vallario remembers Katkov taking her on a date to pick up trash on the beach. Initially, that gave her pause, but she’s come to realize it was Katkov’s way of giving back. “It definitely made me, like, a better person,” Vallario said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since Katkov’s death, she has pushed Cal Fire to demand more of its leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You're supposed to have faith that those people would keep them safe,” she said. “It shows what kind of leadership that they're willing to allow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Brian Edwards reported this story as a fellow for Columbia Journalism Investigations, an investigative reporting unit at the Columbia Journalism School in New York, along with Jacob Margolis, a science reporter at KPCC and LAist, and a member of The California Newsroom.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This story was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11889263/california-firefighters-keep-getting-injured-during-training-and-some-have-died","authors":["byline_news_11889263"],"categories":["news_19906","news_8"],"tags":["news_6383","news_6145","news_4807","news_20341","news_5043","news_23831","news_18512","news_21241","news_4463","news_29880","news_20600","news_23063"],"affiliates":["news_7055","news_24117"],"featImg":"news_11889298","label":"source_news_11889263"},"news_11848292":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11848292","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11848292","score":null,"sort":[1605909175000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"fire-and-ice","title":"Fire and ICE","publishDate":1605909175,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Mark Fiore: Drawn to the Bay | KQED News","labelTerm":{"term":18515,"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>An incarcerated firefighter fought six major wildfires in California this season, and was seriously injured while battling one of them. Then when he was set to be released last month, prison officials \u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/fiorefirefighterice\">turned him over to ICE\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State law restricts local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with ICE, but the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation doesn't hesitate to turn people over to federal immigration authorities at the end of their prison sentences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You'd think incarcerated people who \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11836399/how-two-men-went-from-prison-crew-to-professional-firefighting\">risk their lives to fight wildfires\u003c/a> would at very least be afforded the same protection from President Trump's deportation apparatus as people in local jails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"An incarcerated firefighter fought six major wildfires in California this season. Then when he was set to be released, prison officials turned him over to ICE.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1606256497,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":5,"wordCount":108},"headData":{"title":"Fire and ICE | KQED","description":"An incarcerated firefighter fought six major wildfires in California this season. Then when he was set to be released, prison officials turned him over to ICE.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Fire and ICE","datePublished":"2020-11-20T21:52:55.000Z","dateModified":"2020-11-24T22:21:37.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"disqusIdentifier":"11848292 https://ww2.kqed.org/news/?p=11848292","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2020/11/20/fire-and-ice/","disqusTitle":"Fire and ICE","path":"/news/11848292/fire-and-ice","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>An incarcerated firefighter fought six major wildfires in California this season, and was seriously injured while battling one of them. Then when he was set to be released last month, prison officials \u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/fiorefirefighterice\">turned him over to ICE\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State law restricts local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with ICE, but the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation doesn't hesitate to turn people over to federal immigration authorities at the end of their prison sentences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You'd think incarcerated people who \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11836399/how-two-men-went-from-prison-crew-to-professional-firefighting\">risk their lives to fight wildfires\u003c/a> would at very least be afforded the same protection from President Trump's deportation apparatus as people in local jails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11848292/fire-and-ice","authors":["3236"],"series":["news_18515"],"categories":["news_19906","news_6188","news_13"],"tags":["news_26658","news_1323","news_16","news_28839","news_21241","news_20949","news_28516"],"featImg":"news_11848305","label":"news_18515"},"news_11848154":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11848154","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11848154","score":null,"sort":[1605845478000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"california-turned-over-an-incarcerated-firefighter-to-ice-lawmakers-urge-newsom-to-end-the-practice","title":"California Turned Over an Incarcerated Firefighter to ICE. Lawmakers Urge Newsom to End the Practice","publishDate":1605845478,"format":"audio","headTitle":"The California Report | KQED News","labelTerm":{"term":72,"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>Among the roughly 1,800 inmate firefighters who battled record-setting blazes in California this year was Bounchan Keola, a 39-year-old immigrant serving a 28-year prison sentence for a gang-related shooting when he was a teenager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keola, who grew up in the East Bay city of Richmond after fleeing Laos with his parents when he was just 2 years old, battled six major wildfires in California this season. During an assignment on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/9/27/zogg-fire/\">Zogg Fire\u003c/a> this fall in Shasta County, he suffered a traumatic neck injury after being hit by a falling tree and had to be airlifted out and hospitalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite the physical pain he still suffers and the dangerous work firefighting represents, Keola still wants to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Bounchan Keola\"]'I’m just asking for a second chance to live this American life and to be a firefighter.'[/pullquote]After his first assignment, when he was stunned to see people from the community lining up to thank him and other inmates as they returned to their bus, Keola said the work made him feel a bit like a superhero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"For the first time in my life, I felt good about myself,\" he said. \"I told myself this is what I want to do with my life.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he was 16, Keola was involved in a gang-related shooting and was convicted for second-degree attempted murder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He served most of his sentence and was set to be released from state prison last month. Instead, federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him and are still holding him at a detention center in Kern County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keola has a green card, but he can be deported because of his criminal conviction. An immigration judge ordered him deported on Oct. 29.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I’m just asking for a second chance to live this American life and to be a firefighter,\" Keola told reporters over the phone from the ICE detention center on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California law restricts local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, but it doesn't apply to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which runs the state prison system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco\"]'These are people who pay their debt to society, finish their time and helped us to fight these devastating wildfires. And what is their reward? We're going to turn them over to ICE and get them deported. It's outrageous.'[/pullquote]CDCR officials routinely cooperate with federal immigration authorities, advocates say, transferring released inmates to their custody so they can begin deportation proceedings. This year alone, the state has transferred an estimated 1,265 inmates to ICE, according to Sarah Lee, community advocate for the Asian Law Caucus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a state Senate hearing Thursday, a CDCR official said the agency must honor ICE requests to hold inmates. But Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, disagreed, saying CDCR has no legal obligation to ICE.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These are people who pay their debt to society, finish their time and helped us to fight these devastating wildfires,\" Wiener said of incarcerated immigrant firefighters like Keola. \"And what is their reward? We're going to turn them over to ICE and get them deported. It's outrageous. It’s inhumane, and it has to stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We should be integrating them back into our community, and not facilitating the Trump deportation machine.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11836399/how-two-men-went-from-prison-crew-to-professional-firefighting\">Brandon Smith\u003c/a>, executive director of The Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, a nonprofit that helps California's incarcerated firefighters obtain gainful employment once released, said immigrant inmate firefighters deserve jobs, not deportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These people deserve the opportunity to hop into this [employment] space,\" Smith said. \"Especially after they risked their lives to save you, me, all of our families, the forest that we love.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='inmate-firefighters']For months, dozens of state lawmakers have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11827617/state-lawmakers-urge-newsom-to-stop-transferring-people-in-prison-to-ice-in-pandemic\">urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop handing over inmates to ICE\u003c/a>, especially during the pandemic as detention centers struggle with deadly COVID-19 outbreaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, they say, they haven’t gotten a response yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keola's lawyer, Anoop Prasad, said Keola's family fought alongside U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War. They fled the country when the war ended to avoid persecution and settled in California in 1988, where they became lawful permanent residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before Keola can be deported, Laos has to agree to take him. Prasad said Keola doesn't have a birth certificate or other documents showing he was born in Laos, and he doesn't have any family members who live in the country. Laos officials plan to interview him next month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm trying to be patient, just hoping that I'll get out of here soon and not face deportation and go back to a country I know nothing of and where my family and I fled for a better life,\" Keola said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story includes reporting from The Associated Press' Adam Beam.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Bounchan Keola was set to be released in October, but instead he was transferred to ICE for deportation to a country he left when he was 2 years old.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1606768963,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":24,"wordCount":840},"headData":{"title":"California Turned Over an Incarcerated Firefighter to ICE. Lawmakers Urge Newsom to End the Practice | KQED","description":"Bounchan Keola was set to be released in October, but instead he was transferred to ICE for deportation to a country he left when he was 2 years old.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"California Turned Over an Incarcerated Firefighter to ICE. Lawmakers Urge Newsom to End the Practice","datePublished":"2020-11-20T04:11:18.000Z","dateModified":"2020-11-30T20:42:43.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"disqusIdentifier":"11848154 https://ww2.kqed.org/news/?p=11848154","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2020/11/19/california-turned-over-an-incarcerated-firefighter-to-ice-lawmakers-urge-newsom-to-end-the-practice/","disqusTitle":"California Turned Over an Incarcerated Firefighter to ICE. Lawmakers Urge Newsom to End the Practice","audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/a1ec30c3-5b6c-4ddf-b933-ac79013a1a0a/audio.mp3","path":"/news/11848154/california-turned-over-an-incarcerated-firefighter-to-ice-lawmakers-urge-newsom-to-end-the-practice","audioDuration":138000,"audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Among the roughly 1,800 inmate firefighters who battled record-setting blazes in California this year was Bounchan Keola, a 39-year-old immigrant serving a 28-year prison sentence for a gang-related shooting when he was a teenager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keola, who grew up in the East Bay city of Richmond after fleeing Laos with his parents when he was just 2 years old, battled six major wildfires in California this season. During an assignment on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/9/27/zogg-fire/\">Zogg Fire\u003c/a> this fall in Shasta County, he suffered a traumatic neck injury after being hit by a falling tree and had to be airlifted out and hospitalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite the physical pain he still suffers and the dangerous work firefighting represents, Keola still wants to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"'I’m just asking for a second chance to live this American life and to be a firefighter.'","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"medium","align":"right","citation":"Bounchan Keola","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>After his first assignment, when he was stunned to see people from the community lining up to thank him and other inmates as they returned to their bus, Keola said the work made him feel a bit like a superhero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"For the first time in my life, I felt good about myself,\" he said. \"I told myself this is what I want to do with my life.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he was 16, Keola was involved in a gang-related shooting and was convicted for second-degree attempted murder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He served most of his sentence and was set to be released from state prison last month. Instead, federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him and are still holding him at a detention center in Kern County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keola has a green card, but he can be deported because of his criminal conviction. An immigration judge ordered him deported on Oct. 29.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I’m just asking for a second chance to live this American life and to be a firefighter,\" Keola told reporters over the phone from the ICE detention center on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California law restricts local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, but it doesn't apply to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which runs the state prison system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"'These are people who pay their debt to society, finish their time and helped us to fight these devastating wildfires. And what is their reward? We're going to turn them over to ICE and get them deported. It's outrageous.'","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"medium","align":"right","citation":"State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>CDCR officials routinely cooperate with federal immigration authorities, advocates say, transferring released inmates to their custody so they can begin deportation proceedings. This year alone, the state has transferred an estimated 1,265 inmates to ICE, according to Sarah Lee, community advocate for the Asian Law Caucus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a state Senate hearing Thursday, a CDCR official said the agency must honor ICE requests to hold inmates. But Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, disagreed, saying CDCR has no legal obligation to ICE.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These are people who pay their debt to society, finish their time and helped us to fight these devastating wildfires,\" Wiener said of incarcerated immigrant firefighters like Keola. \"And what is their reward? We're going to turn them over to ICE and get them deported. It's outrageous. It’s inhumane, and it has to stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We should be integrating them back into our community, and not facilitating the Trump deportation machine.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11836399/how-two-men-went-from-prison-crew-to-professional-firefighting\">Brandon Smith\u003c/a>, executive director of The Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, a nonprofit that helps California's incarcerated firefighters obtain gainful employment once released, said immigrant inmate firefighters deserve jobs, not deportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These people deserve the opportunity to hop into this [employment] space,\" Smith said. \"Especially after they risked their lives to save you, me, all of our families, the forest that we love.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"Related Coverage ","tag":"inmate-firefighters"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For months, dozens of state lawmakers have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11827617/state-lawmakers-urge-newsom-to-stop-transferring-people-in-prison-to-ice-in-pandemic\">urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop handing over inmates to ICE\u003c/a>, especially during the pandemic as detention centers struggle with deadly COVID-19 outbreaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, they say, they haven’t gotten a response yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keola's lawyer, Anoop Prasad, said Keola's family fought alongside U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War. They fled the country when the war ended to avoid persecution and settled in California in 1988, where they became lawful permanent residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before Keola can be deported, Laos has to agree to take him. Prasad said Keola doesn't have a birth certificate or other documents showing he was born in Laos, and he doesn't have any family members who live in the country. Laos officials plan to interview him next month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm trying to be patient, just hoping that I'll get out of here soon and not face deportation and go back to a country I know nothing of and where my family and I fled for a better life,\" Keola said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story includes reporting from The Associated Press' Adam Beam.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11848154/california-turned-over-an-incarcerated-firefighter-to-ice-lawmakers-urge-newsom-to-end-the-practice","authors":["8659","182"],"programs":["news_72"],"categories":["news_19906","news_1169","news_6188","news_8","news_13"],"tags":["news_28825","news_18538","news_1629","news_27626","news_18512","news_23400","news_21027","news_20202","news_21241","news_2727","news_17968","news_28652"],"featImg":"news_11848168","label":"news_72"},"news_11846622":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11846622","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11846622","score":null,"sort":[1605178847000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"whats-next-for-incarcerated-firefighters-in-california","title":"What's Next For Incarcerated Firefighters in California?","publishDate":1605178847,"format":"standard","headTitle":"What’s Next For Incarcerated Firefighters in California? | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>Fire season in California has been particularly devastating this year. Some of the biggest wildfires the state has ever seen \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11840987/glass-fire-continues-as-california-wildfires-burn-over-4-million-acres\">raged across the state\u003c/a> and almost 4.2 million acres burned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the firefighters battling to keep our communities safe are state prisoners, which prompted Bay Curious listener Brittany Powers to ask this question: \u003cstrong>“Why are prisoners fighting California wildfires [paid so little] and why are they unable to get jobs in this field after they’ve served their sentences?”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriouspodcastinfo] Brittany’s question won our September voting round, right around the time news was breaking that the state’s wildfire response was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1968728/shortage-of-inmate-firefighters-hampers-response-in-bay-area\">hampered this year by a lack of inmate firefighters\u003c/a>. As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11843335/in-californias-prison-with-the-worst-covid-19-outbreak-men-say-their-mental-health-is-suffering\">COVID-19 swept through the prison system\u003c/a>, Gov. Gavin Newsom released many low-level offenders early, including some of the firefighters. Suddenly, it was more obvious than ever just how important this workforce is to California’s wildland firefighting capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While crucial, the prison firefighting program has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11784042/inmates-saved-homes-in-the-kincade-fire-theyll-face-an-uphill-battle-getting-firefighting-jobs-after-release\">long been criticized \u003c/a>for paying low wages and providing few job opportunities for people upon release.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The History of Fire Camps\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/\">inmate firefighter program first started in 1915, \u003c/a>but it was during World War II — when civilian firefighters were fighting in the war — that the program really got going. Inmate firefighters took care of fire emergencies during the war. Since then, California has maintained inmate fire camps, mostly in the mountains near where fires are likely to break out. The incarcerated firefighters live at those camps year-round, ready to respond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inmate firefighters are paid $2 to $5 per day, and they get an extra dollar per hour when they’re actively working at a fire. While this is much less than entry-level professional firefighters make, it’s still the highest paid job in the prison system, says a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. It’s also a desirable and competitive job to get.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only people who the state deems a low safety risk are eligible, and everyone must pass a series of physical fitness tests and be trained. Once a person steps foot in fire camp, their remaining sentence is reduced, sometimes by as much as half. And life at a fire camp is more permissive than in a general population prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11846634\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11846634\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3.jpg\" alt=\"Inmate firefighters clear brush from a roadside in the Berkeley Hills near Tilden Regional Park on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. Fire officials say fuel reduction projects like this are critical to preventing major wildfires.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1272\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3-800x530.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inmate firefighters clear brush from a roadside in the Berkeley Hills near Tilden Regional Park on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. Fire officials say fuel reduction projects like this are critical to preventing major wildfires. \u003ccite>(Ryan Levi/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Oh man, night and day. It almost feels like you are free there,” said Gary Minnick, a firefighter working at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11782314/what-you-need-to-know-sonoma-countys-kincade-fire\">Kincade Fire in 2019\u003c/a>. “Enough to keep you on track and in line, but kinda helping you get back to be able to be reintroduced to the public and out of the politics and the bad stuff that goes along with a regular prison yard. I’d rather be here than where I was at, any day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire camps have dorms, a dining hall and a yard for working out. Prisoners get to work outside, doing an important job that many take pride in doing. In the off season, they cut fire breaks and do general forest management. When a fire breaks out, they’re often assigned to the most difficult and backbreaking work. They hike cross-country carrying heavy tools like chainsaws, shovels, rakes and other hand tools. Then, in teams of 12-16, they work to clear six-foot wide trenches called fire breaks, to help contain the fire. At times, when a fire is threatening a home, they fight it directly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Direct attack. Flames licking in your face. Situations where you have to get in and out quickly with no margin for error,” said Christopher Jones, another incarcerated firefighter who fought at the Kincade Fire last year. “It’s exhilarating. It’s exciting. It’s challenging. You feel like you are alive and you are doing something both positive and productive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Legislative Changes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11846630\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11846630\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully.jpg\" alt=\"Inmate firefighters seen from a distance, working on the Bully fire.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully-160x90.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inmate firefighters seen from a distance, working on the Bully fire. \u003ccite>(Adam Grossberg/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11836399/how-two-men-went-from-prison-crew-to-professional-firefighting\">some former prisoners do get contract jobs\u003c/a> working for CalFire or the National Forest Service doing wildland firefighting after they are released, the path to stable employment in municipal fire departments has been very narrow to them for many years. That’s because of a law that says people with felonies can’t get EMT licenses, which are required to become a firefighter in many cities across the state. Advocates have long wanted to see this barrier removed so formerly incarcerated folks with firefighting experience have access to good, well-paid jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year they got their wish. In September, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11837644/newsom-signs-law-paving-way-for-former-inmates-to-become-professional-firefighters\">Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2147\u003c/a>, which would make it easier for formerly incarcerated people to have their records expunged, and open the door to an EMT license.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">At the site of the North Complex Fire today, Governor \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GavinNewsom\u003c/a> signed \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/AsmReyes47?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AsmReyes47\u003c/a>‘s \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/AB2147?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AB2147\u003c/a> eliminating barriers that prevent former inmate fire crews from pursuing a career as a firefighter once they served their time. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/CaliforniaForAll?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CaliforniaForAll\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/tT3D18UJWK\">pic.twitter.com/tT3D18UJWK\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CAgovernor/status/1304514036306829313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2020\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Questions remain about how quickly the state will process requests from formerly incarcerated firefighters, but many are grateful there is now a path forward. Samantha Vetter was fighting fires outside Los Angeles this year, but she was released this summer as part of the state’s push to slow the spread of the coronavirus across the prison system. She says the new legislation gives her hope for a career as a firefighter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel very grateful that the bill passed and I’m grateful for everyone who voted on it,” Vetter said. “There’s a lot of us that want to change and it is just really going to help. Totally one less obstacle, and I feel blessed that it went through at the perfect time. You know, I did just get out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the governor is shifting resources away from the fire camps. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article246400810.html\">state plans to shutter eight\u003c/a> at the end of fire season, which will mean fewer opportunities for incarcerated people to participate in the program. At the same time, Newsom is expanding the California Conservation Corps, which means the state will bolster the number of civilian hand crews fighting wildland fires while contracting its prison camp program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Inmate firefighters have helped save lives and homes at some of California's biggest wildfires. Now, when they get out of jail, they'll have an easier path to finding similar jobs on the outside.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1700589160,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":true,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":19,"wordCount":1096},"headData":{"title":"What's Next For Incarcerated Firefighters in California? | KQED","description":"Inmate firefighters have helped save lives and homes at some of California's biggest wildfires. Now, when they get out of jail, they'll have an easier path to finding similar jobs on the outside.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"What's Next For Incarcerated Firefighters in California?","datePublished":"2020-11-12T11:00:47.000Z","dateModified":"2023-11-21T17:52:40.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"source":"Bay Curious","sourceUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/baycurious","audioUrl":"https://dcs.megaphone.fm/KQINC9512913790.mp3?key=0e2f35dbb3e9f0b6b2175757f675bb92","path":"/news/11846622/whats-next-for-incarcerated-firefighters-in-california","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Fire season in California has been particularly devastating this year. Some of the biggest wildfires the state has ever seen \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11840987/glass-fire-continues-as-california-wildfires-burn-over-4-million-acres\">raged across the state\u003c/a> and almost 4.2 million acres burned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the firefighters battling to keep our communities safe are state prisoners, which prompted Bay Curious listener Brittany Powers to ask this question: \u003cstrong>“Why are prisoners fighting California wildfires [paid so little] and why are they unable to get jobs in this field after they’ve served their sentences?”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp> Brittany’s question won our September voting round, right around the time news was breaking that the state’s wildfire response was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1968728/shortage-of-inmate-firefighters-hampers-response-in-bay-area\">hampered this year by a lack of inmate firefighters\u003c/a>. As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11843335/in-californias-prison-with-the-worst-covid-19-outbreak-men-say-their-mental-health-is-suffering\">COVID-19 swept through the prison system\u003c/a>, Gov. Gavin Newsom released many low-level offenders early, including some of the firefighters. Suddenly, it was more obvious than ever just how important this workforce is to California’s wildland firefighting capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While crucial, the prison firefighting program has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11784042/inmates-saved-homes-in-the-kincade-fire-theyll-face-an-uphill-battle-getting-firefighting-jobs-after-release\">long been criticized \u003c/a>for paying low wages and providing few job opportunities for people upon release.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The History of Fire Camps\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/\">inmate firefighter program first started in 1915, \u003c/a>but it was during World War II — when civilian firefighters were fighting in the war — that the program really got going. Inmate firefighters took care of fire emergencies during the war. Since then, California has maintained inmate fire camps, mostly in the mountains near where fires are likely to break out. The incarcerated firefighters live at those camps year-round, ready to respond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inmate firefighters are paid $2 to $5 per day, and they get an extra dollar per hour when they’re actively working at a fire. While this is much less than entry-level professional firefighters make, it’s still the highest paid job in the prison system, says a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. It’s also a desirable and competitive job to get.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only people who the state deems a low safety risk are eligible, and everyone must pass a series of physical fitness tests and be trained. Once a person steps foot in fire camp, their remaining sentence is reduced, sometimes by as much as half. And life at a fire camp is more permissive than in a general population prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11846634\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11846634\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3.jpg\" alt=\"Inmate firefighters clear brush from a roadside in the Berkeley Hills near Tilden Regional Park on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. Fire officials say fuel reduction projects like this are critical to preventing major wildfires.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1272\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3-800x530.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/Inmate-Firefighters3-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inmate firefighters clear brush from a roadside in the Berkeley Hills near Tilden Regional Park on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. Fire officials say fuel reduction projects like this are critical to preventing major wildfires. \u003ccite>(Ryan Levi/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Oh man, night and day. It almost feels like you are free there,” said Gary Minnick, a firefighter working at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11782314/what-you-need-to-know-sonoma-countys-kincade-fire\">Kincade Fire in 2019\u003c/a>. “Enough to keep you on track and in line, but kinda helping you get back to be able to be reintroduced to the public and out of the politics and the bad stuff that goes along with a regular prison yard. I’d rather be here than where I was at, any day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire camps have dorms, a dining hall and a yard for working out. Prisoners get to work outside, doing an important job that many take pride in doing. In the off season, they cut fire breaks and do general forest management. When a fire breaks out, they’re often assigned to the most difficult and backbreaking work. They hike cross-country carrying heavy tools like chainsaws, shovels, rakes and other hand tools. Then, in teams of 12-16, they work to clear six-foot wide trenches called fire breaks, to help contain the fire. At times, when a fire is threatening a home, they fight it directly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Direct attack. Flames licking in your face. Situations where you have to get in and out quickly with no margin for error,” said Christopher Jones, another incarcerated firefighter who fought at the Kincade Fire last year. “It’s exhilarating. It’s exciting. It’s challenging. You feel like you are alive and you are doing something both positive and productive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Legislative Changes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11846630\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11846630\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully.jpg\" alt=\"Inmate firefighters seen from a distance, working on the Bully fire.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully-160x90.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/InmateFirefightersBully-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inmate firefighters seen from a distance, working on the Bully fire. \u003ccite>(Adam Grossberg/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11836399/how-two-men-went-from-prison-crew-to-professional-firefighting\">some former prisoners do get contract jobs\u003c/a> working for CalFire or the National Forest Service doing wildland firefighting after they are released, the path to stable employment in municipal fire departments has been very narrow to them for many years. That’s because of a law that says people with felonies can’t get EMT licenses, which are required to become a firefighter in many cities across the state. Advocates have long wanted to see this barrier removed so formerly incarcerated folks with firefighting experience have access to good, well-paid jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year they got their wish. In September, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11837644/newsom-signs-law-paving-way-for-former-inmates-to-become-professional-firefighters\">Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2147\u003c/a>, which would make it easier for formerly incarcerated people to have their records expunged, and open the door to an EMT license.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">At the site of the North Complex Fire today, Governor \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GavinNewsom\u003c/a> signed \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/AsmReyes47?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AsmReyes47\u003c/a>‘s \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/AB2147?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AB2147\u003c/a> eliminating barriers that prevent former inmate fire crews from pursuing a career as a firefighter once they served their time. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/CaliforniaForAll?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CaliforniaForAll\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/tT3D18UJWK\">pic.twitter.com/tT3D18UJWK\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CAgovernor/status/1304514036306829313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2020\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Questions remain about how quickly the state will process requests from formerly incarcerated firefighters, but many are grateful there is now a path forward. Samantha Vetter was fighting fires outside Los Angeles this year, but she was released this summer as part of the state’s push to slow the spread of the coronavirus across the prison system. She says the new legislation gives her hope for a career as a firefighter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel very grateful that the bill passed and I’m grateful for everyone who voted on it,” Vetter said. “There’s a lot of us that want to change and it is just really going to help. Totally one less obstacle, and I feel blessed that it went through at the perfect time. You know, I did just get out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the governor is shifting resources away from the fire camps. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article246400810.html\">state plans to shutter eight\u003c/a> at the end of fire season, which will mean fewer opportunities for incarcerated people to participate in the program. At the same time, Newsom is expanding the California Conservation Corps, which means the state will bolster the number of civilian hand crews fighting wildland fires while contracting its prison camp program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"baycuriousquestion","attributes":{"named":{"label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11846622/whats-next-for-incarcerated-firefighters-in-california","authors":["234","11608"],"programs":["news_33523"],"series":["news_17986"],"categories":["news_19906","news_8","news_33520"],"tags":["news_20341","news_27626","news_21241","news_4463"],"featImg":"news_11846629","label":"source_news_11846622"},"news_11836399":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11836399","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11836399","score":null,"sort":[1599253250000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"how-two-men-went-from-prison-crew-to-professional-firefighting","title":"From Prison Crew to Pros, the Firefighters Who Beat the Odds — And Are Giving Back","publishDate":1599253250,"format":"audio","headTitle":"KQED News","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>In 2012, Brandon Smith was three years into serving a prison sentence at Wasco State Prison. Smith grew up in Altadena, nestled in the San Gabriel Mountains, but says that he never really thought about firefighting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then a prison counselor asked if he wanted to go to fire camp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was the highest paying job [in prison],” Smith said. “You'd have to be tripping to deny it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He wouldn’t be behind four concrete walls. His family could visit him at fire camp. The food would be better. He’d make a $1.65 a day — the rate has since increased to as much as $5 a day — plus an extra dollar an hour during fire emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, California has relied on prisoner hand crews, typically made up of 12 to 16 trained inmates who perform grueling work, to hack through brush in oppressive heat while creating containment perimeters around a fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after leaving prison, many people who worked on fire prison teams couldn't find work as professional firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think that's the egregious part of this,\" Smith said. \"You have this labor pool of people that are just sitting here and underutilized only because an issue of perception.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are several barriers. For instance, EMT certification excludes people with \u003ca href=\"https://www.coastalvalleysems.org/resources/pdf/cert_accred/100214excerpts.pdf\">certain felonies and misdemeanors\u003c/a>. Qualified, trained inmates also can't start right away even once released because applications are due many months in advance. Once released, some parole requirements won't allow people to travel, making wildland firefighting in remote areas impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering whether to sign \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB2147\">a new law\u003c/a> that would allow people who served on prison fire crews to have certain crimes removed from their record so they can qualify to become firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside>\u003cstrong>If signed, Assembly Bill 2147 would allow people who work on prison fire crews to:\u003c/strong>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>have certain crimes from their record expunged\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>qualify for EMT certification\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>reduce time spent on probation, parole or supervised release\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>To be selected for a fire crew as a California inmate, you have to clear a psychological evaluation. Also, you can’t be incarcerated for something like arson, murder or rape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11836415\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11836415\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44650_54510955_2564866656861333_1292932311761941842_n-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44650_54510955_2564866656861333_1292932311761941842_n-qut.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44650_54510955_2564866656861333_1292932311761941842_n-qut-160x160.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44650_54510955_2564866656861333_1292932311761941842_n-qut-550x550.jpg 550w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44650_54510955_2564866656861333_1292932311761941842_n-qut-470x470.jpg 470w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Smith poses, in his element, against a smokey California backdrop. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brandon Smith)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>'It Gave Me a Sense of Purpose'\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 2012, Smith qualified. He was sent to Jamestown, to a training camp in the Sierras. He still remembers his first fire, off the side of the road in Idyllwild.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just kicked in action once that adrenaline got in,” he said. It was a shock at first. But the more he worked at it, the more he learned to love how fighting fires made him feel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Being incarcerated, folks don't necessarily have the best views of you out there, right?” he said. “After finishing a 16-hour shift, riding down in the buggies, and everybody's out, holding signs like, ‘Thank you, firefighters.’ They’re talking to us as well. It helped me reconnect back with the community. It gave me a sense of purpose.”\u003cbr>\n[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Brandon Smith\"]\"It helped me reconnect back with the community. It gave me a sense of purpose.\"[/pullquote]\u003cbr>\nThe California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation found in \u003ca href=\"https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/media/publications/2012%20Outcome%20Evaluation%20Report%20-%20Parolee%20Recidivism%2C%20CDRA%2C%202012.pdf\">a 2012 study\u003c/a> that people who serve on prison fire crews are less likely to commit another crime than the general population. However, people on prison fire teams still had a 50% recidivism rate. Smith said that being able to work would help keep people from ending up in prison again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Royal Ramey has a similar story. He’s from Highland, just across the valley from where Smith grew up. In 2008, Ramey was sent to serve his sentence in the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, but was transferred to Mississippi. He was offered a chance to come home to California if he would fight fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I first started fighting fire, I was like I was a horrible hiker,” Ramey laughed. “I'm a great runner, I can lift weights. But when you’re actually hiking on hills, it’s a whole different animal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ramey and Smith met at the Bautista Adult Conservation Fire Camp in Hemet in Riverside County. They immediately clicked. They were both “sawyers,” which means they were the ones in the front of the hand crew, holding the chainsaw. And they got kind of competitive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t let him say he was better,” Smith said. “I was faster on the chainsaw.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were passionate about the saw,” Ramey remembered. “We would talk strategies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That rivalry grew into a deep friendship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We talked about life, trying to come out the situation with a better attitude, with a better position,” Ramey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Years-Long Quest to Go Pro\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Smith was released eight months before Ramey, in March 2014. Both of their sentences were reduced because they worked on a fire crew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Altadena, Smith told his parole officer that he wanted to find work as a wildland firefighter. The parole officer said “good luck.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith spent 18 months going to fire stations, turning in applications. But he wasn’t going far. Many positions required EMT training. Paid positions, not volunteer, were few and far between. He had to meet with his parole officer often, so he couldn’t apply for non-local positions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Ramey was released, he and Smith decided to pursue one last option. They enrolled in a fire academy in Victorville. It felt like starting off at square one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11836405\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11836405\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44648_smith-ramey-work-1-qut-800x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44648_smith-ramey-work-1-qut-800x480.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44648_smith-ramey-work-1-qut-1020x612.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44648_smith-ramey-work-1-qut-160x96.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44648_smith-ramey-work-1-qut.jpg 1242w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Smith and Royal Ramey pose together at Victor Valley College Wildland Firefighting Academy. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brandon Smith)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There, they met a fire chief from the U.S. Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith said, “I remember pulling her to the side and saying, ‘Hey ma’am, here’s the situation. I just want to be up front. I've kept trying to hop into this space I can't find a way in.’ ” The fire chief told him that if he kept working at it, she may eventually have an opening for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year later, Smith and Ramey graduated at the top of their class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was the summer of 2015. Hundreds of fires were burning across the state. So that fire chief called them — and recruited them to fight the Lake Fire, near Big Bear. And suddenly they were fighting their first fire professionally.[aside postID=\"science_1968728,science_1967141,news_11686212\" label=\"Prison Fire Teams\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s running the chainsaw now, and I’m helping him out,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in a moment that Brandon credits to divine intervention, he and Royal’s crew interacted with a prison fire crew — and they recognized some of the guys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was talking to a fella who was like, ‘Oh, you guys are professional firefighters? Help us out!’ ” Ramey said. The incarcerated men hadn’t ever interacted with anyone like Ramey and Smith — people with their background working on a professional hand crew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fighting the Lake Fire opened the door to new opportunities. Ramey got a job with the Forest Service in San Bernardino. Smith, in Sonora.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Smith, commuting to work was a struggle all on its own. “This dude didn't even have a car!” Ramey said. “He didn’t let nothing stop him. One of the biggest things that me and Brandon, we both hold deep in our souls is: Don’t make excuses for yourself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith was coordinating rides with coworkers to fight fires — sometimes traveling hours each way. And on top of that, he was volunteering: going to prison fire camps and talking to incarcerated firefighters about how to find jobs in the Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11836414\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11836414\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-800x800.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-160x160.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-912x912.jpg 912w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-550x550.jpg 550w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-470x470.jpg 470w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Smith speaks in front of a group of incarcerated women about careers in firefighting. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brandon Smith)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Clearing the Way for Others\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Smith and Ramey made it as professional firefighters through their tenacity, perseverance and luck. But they say they don’t want other people in their position to go through what they did, without structural support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2015, Smith and Ramey founded a nonprofit organization called \u003ca href=\"https://www.forestryfirerp.org/about-us\">The Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They partner with local governments like Los Angeles County to give paid on-the-job training for people who were formerly incarcerated, and help with state firefighting applications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2015, they’ve helped more than 100 people find work in the Forest Service. Folks who graduated from their program are fighting the fires across California as engineers, leading crews, flying helicopters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11836407\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11836407\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-800x800.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-160x160.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-912x912.jpg 912w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-550x550.jpg 550w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-470x470.jpg 470w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Smith (center) celebrating one of the Forestry Fire Recruitment Program's graduation ceremonies. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brandon Smith)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Ramey, Smith and the people they help through their nonprofit persevered through a system that put them in potentially life-threatening situations for below minimum wage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a country, we have a heavy dependence on the use of incarcerated people as laborers,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith emphasized that California passing AB 2147 is a step in the right direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, of course, it’s just a step. Smith said the state is reliant on prison retention to handle the ever-raging wildfire season. He wants the state to create a new pipeline, one for former inmates to get a living wage on the fire lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We get the same training, more experience than the firefighters out here,” Smith said. “But when folks come home from prison or come home from these fire camps, they're not able to utilize the skills that they’ve learned.”\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"After they spent years working to become firefighters, two men want to help clear a path for others.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1599262788,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":45,"wordCount":1656},"headData":{"title":"From Prison Crew to Pros, the Firefighters Who Beat the Odds — And Are Giving Back | KQED","description":"After they spent years working to become firefighters, two men want to help clear a path for others.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"From Prison Crew to Pros, the Firefighters Who Beat the Odds — And Are Giving Back","datePublished":"2020-09-04T21:00:50.000Z","dateModified":"2020-09-04T23:39:48.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"disqusIdentifier":"11836399 https://ww2.kqed.org/news/?p=11836399","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2020/09/04/how-two-men-went-from-prison-crew-to-professional-firefighting/","disqusTitle":"From Prison Crew to Pros, the Firefighters Who Beat the Odds — And Are Giving Back","audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/72bb287d-ff28-4ab3-b949-ac2c017f72c7/audio.mp3","path":"/news/11836399/how-two-men-went-from-prison-crew-to-professional-firefighting","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In 2012, Brandon Smith was three years into serving a prison sentence at Wasco State Prison. Smith grew up in Altadena, nestled in the San Gabriel Mountains, but says that he never really thought about firefighting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then a prison counselor asked if he wanted to go to fire camp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was the highest paying job [in prison],” Smith said. “You'd have to be tripping to deny it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He wouldn’t be behind four concrete walls. His family could visit him at fire camp. The food would be better. He’d make a $1.65 a day — the rate has since increased to as much as $5 a day — plus an extra dollar an hour during fire emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, California has relied on prisoner hand crews, typically made up of 12 to 16 trained inmates who perform grueling work, to hack through brush in oppressive heat while creating containment perimeters around a fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after leaving prison, many people who worked on fire prison teams couldn't find work as professional firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think that's the egregious part of this,\" Smith said. \"You have this labor pool of people that are just sitting here and underutilized only because an issue of perception.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are several barriers. For instance, EMT certification excludes people with \u003ca href=\"https://www.coastalvalleysems.org/resources/pdf/cert_accred/100214excerpts.pdf\">certain felonies and misdemeanors\u003c/a>. Qualified, trained inmates also can't start right away even once released because applications are due many months in advance. Once released, some parole requirements won't allow people to travel, making wildland firefighting in remote areas impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering whether to sign \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB2147\">a new law\u003c/a> that would allow people who served on prison fire crews to have certain crimes removed from their record so they can qualify to become firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside>\u003cstrong>If signed, Assembly Bill 2147 would allow people who work on prison fire crews to:\u003c/strong>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>have certain crimes from their record expunged\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>qualify for EMT certification\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>reduce time spent on probation, parole or supervised release\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>To be selected for a fire crew as a California inmate, you have to clear a psychological evaluation. Also, you can’t be incarcerated for something like arson, murder or rape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11836415\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11836415\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44650_54510955_2564866656861333_1292932311761941842_n-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44650_54510955_2564866656861333_1292932311761941842_n-qut.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44650_54510955_2564866656861333_1292932311761941842_n-qut-160x160.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44650_54510955_2564866656861333_1292932311761941842_n-qut-550x550.jpg 550w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44650_54510955_2564866656861333_1292932311761941842_n-qut-470x470.jpg 470w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Smith poses, in his element, against a smokey California backdrop. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brandon Smith)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>'It Gave Me a Sense of Purpose'\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 2012, Smith qualified. He was sent to Jamestown, to a training camp in the Sierras. He still remembers his first fire, off the side of the road in Idyllwild.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just kicked in action once that adrenaline got in,” he said. It was a shock at first. But the more he worked at it, the more he learned to love how fighting fires made him feel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Being incarcerated, folks don't necessarily have the best views of you out there, right?” he said. “After finishing a 16-hour shift, riding down in the buggies, and everybody's out, holding signs like, ‘Thank you, firefighters.’ They’re talking to us as well. It helped me reconnect back with the community. It gave me a sense of purpose.”\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"\"It helped me reconnect back with the community. It gave me a sense of purpose.\"","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"medium","align":"right","citation":"Brandon Smith","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cbr>\nThe California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation found in \u003ca href=\"https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/media/publications/2012%20Outcome%20Evaluation%20Report%20-%20Parolee%20Recidivism%2C%20CDRA%2C%202012.pdf\">a 2012 study\u003c/a> that people who serve on prison fire crews are less likely to commit another crime than the general population. However, people on prison fire teams still had a 50% recidivism rate. Smith said that being able to work would help keep people from ending up in prison again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Royal Ramey has a similar story. He’s from Highland, just across the valley from where Smith grew up. In 2008, Ramey was sent to serve his sentence in the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, but was transferred to Mississippi. He was offered a chance to come home to California if he would fight fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I first started fighting fire, I was like I was a horrible hiker,” Ramey laughed. “I'm a great runner, I can lift weights. But when you’re actually hiking on hills, it’s a whole different animal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ramey and Smith met at the Bautista Adult Conservation Fire Camp in Hemet in Riverside County. They immediately clicked. They were both “sawyers,” which means they were the ones in the front of the hand crew, holding the chainsaw. And they got kind of competitive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t let him say he was better,” Smith said. “I was faster on the chainsaw.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were passionate about the saw,” Ramey remembered. “We would talk strategies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That rivalry grew into a deep friendship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We talked about life, trying to come out the situation with a better attitude, with a better position,” Ramey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Years-Long Quest to Go Pro\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Smith was released eight months before Ramey, in March 2014. Both of their sentences were reduced because they worked on a fire crew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Altadena, Smith told his parole officer that he wanted to find work as a wildland firefighter. The parole officer said “good luck.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith spent 18 months going to fire stations, turning in applications. But he wasn’t going far. Many positions required EMT training. Paid positions, not volunteer, were few and far between. He had to meet with his parole officer often, so he couldn’t apply for non-local positions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Ramey was released, he and Smith decided to pursue one last option. They enrolled in a fire academy in Victorville. It felt like starting off at square one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11836405\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11836405\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44648_smith-ramey-work-1-qut-800x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44648_smith-ramey-work-1-qut-800x480.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44648_smith-ramey-work-1-qut-1020x612.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44648_smith-ramey-work-1-qut-160x96.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44648_smith-ramey-work-1-qut.jpg 1242w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Smith and Royal Ramey pose together at Victor Valley College Wildland Firefighting Academy. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brandon Smith)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There, they met a fire chief from the U.S. Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith said, “I remember pulling her to the side and saying, ‘Hey ma’am, here’s the situation. I just want to be up front. I've kept trying to hop into this space I can't find a way in.’ ” The fire chief told him that if he kept working at it, she may eventually have an opening for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year later, Smith and Ramey graduated at the top of their class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was the summer of 2015. Hundreds of fires were burning across the state. So that fire chief called them — and recruited them to fight the Lake Fire, near Big Bear. And suddenly they were fighting their first fire professionally.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"science_1968728,science_1967141,news_11686212","label":"Prison Fire Teams "},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s running the chainsaw now, and I’m helping him out,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in a moment that Brandon credits to divine intervention, he and Royal’s crew interacted with a prison fire crew — and they recognized some of the guys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was talking to a fella who was like, ‘Oh, you guys are professional firefighters? Help us out!’ ” Ramey said. The incarcerated men hadn’t ever interacted with anyone like Ramey and Smith — people with their background working on a professional hand crew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fighting the Lake Fire opened the door to new opportunities. Ramey got a job with the Forest Service in San Bernardino. Smith, in Sonora.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Smith, commuting to work was a struggle all on its own. “This dude didn't even have a car!” Ramey said. “He didn’t let nothing stop him. One of the biggest things that me and Brandon, we both hold deep in our souls is: Don’t make excuses for yourself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith was coordinating rides with coworkers to fight fires — sometimes traveling hours each way. And on top of that, he was volunteering: going to prison fire camps and talking to incarcerated firefighters about how to find jobs in the Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11836414\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11836414\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-800x800.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-160x160.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-912x912.jpg 912w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-550x550.jpg 550w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut-470x470.jpg 470w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44649_malibu-qut.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Smith speaks in front of a group of incarcerated women about careers in firefighting. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brandon Smith)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Clearing the Way for Others\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Smith and Ramey made it as professional firefighters through their tenacity, perseverance and luck. But they say they don’t want other people in their position to go through what they did, without structural support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2015, Smith and Ramey founded a nonprofit organization called \u003ca href=\"https://www.forestryfirerp.org/about-us\">The Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They partner with local governments like Los Angeles County to give paid on-the-job training for people who were formerly incarcerated, and help with state firefighting applications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2015, they’ve helped more than 100 people find work in the Forest Service. Folks who graduated from their program are fighting the fires across California as engineers, leading crews, flying helicopters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11836407\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11836407\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-800x800.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-160x160.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-912x912.jpg 912w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-550x550.jpg 550w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut-470x470.jpg 470w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/RS44644_ffrp-grad-qut.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Smith (center) celebrating one of the Forestry Fire Recruitment Program's graduation ceremonies. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brandon Smith)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Ramey, Smith and the people they help through their nonprofit persevered through a system that put them in potentially life-threatening situations for below minimum wage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a country, we have a heavy dependence on the use of incarcerated people as laborers,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith emphasized that California passing AB 2147 is a step in the right direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, of course, it’s just a step. Smith said the state is reliant on prison retention to handle the ever-raging wildfire season. He wants the state to create a new pipeline, one for former inmates to get a living wage on the fire lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We get the same training, more experience than the firefighters out here,” Smith said. “But when folks come home from prison or come home from these fire camps, they're not able to utilize the skills that they’ve learned.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11836399/how-two-men-went-from-prison-crew-to-professional-firefighting","authors":["11660"],"categories":["news_8"],"tags":["news_1629","news_27626","news_21241","news_4463"],"featImg":"news_11836641","label":"news"},"news_11784966":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11784966","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11784966","score":null,"sort":[1573047022000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"injuries-to-2-contractors-1-inmate-firefighter-in-kincade-blaze-prompt-state-investigation","title":"Injuries to 2 Contractors, 1 Inmate Firefighter in Kincade Blaze Prompt State Investigations","publishDate":1573047022,"format":"standard","headTitle":"The California Report | KQED News","labelTerm":{"term":72,"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>State workplace regulators have launched investigations into three separate incidents that injured two private contractors and an inmate firefighter in the massive \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11782314/what-you-need-to-know-sonoma-countys-kincade-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kincade Fire\u003c/a> that has ravaged parts of Sonoma County over the last two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contractors were employed by two Oregon-based firms, and their injuries have raised concerns among one of California's leading firefighter advocacy organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The presence of private fire crews in California puts our public safety responders at greater risk, since they are the ones who are ultimately responsible for the safety of those contractors,\" said Carroll Wills, a representative for California Professional Firefighters, a leading advocacy organization for public employee, career firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"The Kincade Fire\" tag=\"kincade-fire\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most recent injury involved a private firefighter on a handcrew run by the Sutherlin, Oregon-based company, Diamond Fire Inc. The unidentified contractor was hurt last Wednesday after he was struck in the face and head by an object during a fireline assignment, according to a preliminary Cal Fire review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That report, known as a Blue Sheet, says the Diamond Fire crew was assigned to work on Division E of the fire, located in the southeast portion of the blaze, northwest of Calistoga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mike Sulffridge, general manager at Diamond Fire, said the worker was mopping up — a firefighting term used to describe work like extinguishing or removing burning material near a control line — when the injury took place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter pulled on a limb attached to a small log when the log turned, forcing the limb to flip up and hit the worker in the face, knocking him over. He suffered moderate injuries to his face and head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter was treated near the site of the injury, driven to a hospital in Santa Rosa and released a day later, according to Sulffridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Diamond Fire crew was part of a contingent of out-of-state firefighters brought in through coordination from the California Office of Emergency Services and the U.S. Forest Service, according to Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Oct. 27 a firefighter identified as 29-year-old Titan Cheatham, who was hired by the Ashland-Oregon based firm Pacific Oasis, was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11783857/firefighter-injured-in-kincade-blaze-was-working-for-a-private-company\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seriously injured\u003c/a> in the Kincade Fire. Cheatham's identity was first revealed by \u003ca href=\"https://www.ijpr.org/post/firefighter-ashland-contractor-injured-kincade-fire#stream/0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jefferson Public Radio\u003c/a> and later confirmed by a Pacific Oasis official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State workplace regulators said Cheatham was operating a chainsaw when the device's fuel cap came off and splashed his pants with fuel, which then ignited from a nearby spot fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cheatham received second- and third-degree burns to his legs and was taken to UC Davis Medical Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This accident resulted in severe burns to Titan's lower legs,\" said Steve Dodds, who co-owns Pacific Oasis, in an email. \"Our main concerns remain his physical and mental condition and his recovery.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11783857 hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/10/Firefighters-battle-barn-fire-kincade-fire-1020x665.jpg\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Pacific Oasis crew was hired under an interagency agreement administered by the Oregon Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service, according to Dodds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wills, with California Professional Firefighters, said the injuries raise worries about the potential of more contract firefighters being used in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We would be concerned about any increase in deployment of private firefighting crews in California,\" Wills said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When private crews are sent into California from other states, there is no guarantee they have the proper training, experience and safety standards required of California's paid and volunteer firefighters,\" he said. \"This is especially dangerous given the number and intensity of wildfires in California.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dodds, of Pacific Oasis, said his company has a long history of working for state agencies, the federal government and private landowners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Over the past 15 years we have provided wildland firefighting resources on almost every notable wildland fire incident in the western United States. Hundreds of wildland fires,\" Dodds said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11784042 hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/10/kincade-fire-inmates-1920-1038x576.jpg\"]The third injury involved an inmate firefighter working through a program run by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), according to Frank Polizzi, a spokesman for California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). Cal/OSHA is investigating all three incidents, Polizzi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The prisoner was cutting a fireline in the Healdsburg area on Oct. 28 when he or she was struck by a rolling dead tree and suffered a broken ankle. CDCR and Cal Fire officials did not have more details on that injury.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The inmate firefighter was one of more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11784042/inmates-saved-homes-in-the-kincade-fire-theyll-face-an-uphill-battle-getting-firefighting-jobs-after-release\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">400 state prisoners\u003c/a> who helped Cal Fire get a handle on the Kincade Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all, four firefighters were injured in the Kincade Fire. The other injury involved an eye injury to a firefighter, McLean said. No other details have been released about that case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2019/10/23/kincade-fire/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kincade blaze\u003c/a>, which has burned close to 78,000 acres and destroyed 374 structures, is 84 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The private contractors were employed by Oregon-based companies, and their injuries have raised concerns among one of California's leading firefighter advocacy organizations.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1573048121,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":28,"wordCount":850},"headData":{"title":"Injuries to 2 Contractors, 1 Inmate Firefighter in Kincade Blaze Prompt State Investigations | KQED","description":"The private contractors were employed by Oregon-based companies, and their injuries have raised concerns among one of California's leading firefighter advocacy organizations.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Injuries to 2 Contractors, 1 Inmate Firefighter in Kincade Blaze Prompt State Investigations","datePublished":"2019-11-06T13:30:22.000Z","dateModified":"2019-11-06T13:48:41.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"disqusIdentifier":"11784966 https://ww2.kqed.org/news/?p=11784966","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2019/11/06/injuries-to-2-contractors-1-inmate-firefighter-in-kincade-blaze-prompt-state-investigation/","disqusTitle":"Injuries to 2 Contractors, 1 Inmate Firefighter in Kincade Blaze Prompt State Investigations","path":"/news/11784966/injuries-to-2-contractors-1-inmate-firefighter-in-kincade-blaze-prompt-state-investigation","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>State workplace regulators have launched investigations into three separate incidents that injured two private contractors and an inmate firefighter in the massive \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11782314/what-you-need-to-know-sonoma-countys-kincade-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kincade Fire\u003c/a> that has ravaged parts of Sonoma County over the last two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contractors were employed by two Oregon-based firms, and their injuries have raised concerns among one of California's leading firefighter advocacy organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The presence of private fire crews in California puts our public safety responders at greater risk, since they are the ones who are ultimately responsible for the safety of those contractors,\" said Carroll Wills, a representative for California Professional Firefighters, a leading advocacy organization for public employee, career firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"The Kincade Fire ","tag":"kincade-fire"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most recent injury involved a private firefighter on a handcrew run by the Sutherlin, Oregon-based company, Diamond Fire Inc. The unidentified contractor was hurt last Wednesday after he was struck in the face and head by an object during a fireline assignment, according to a preliminary Cal Fire review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That report, known as a Blue Sheet, says the Diamond Fire crew was assigned to work on Division E of the fire, located in the southeast portion of the blaze, northwest of Calistoga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mike Sulffridge, general manager at Diamond Fire, said the worker was mopping up — a firefighting term used to describe work like extinguishing or removing burning material near a control line — when the injury took place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter pulled on a limb attached to a small log when the log turned, forcing the limb to flip up and hit the worker in the face, knocking him over. He suffered moderate injuries to his face and head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter was treated near the site of the injury, driven to a hospital in Santa Rosa and released a day later, according to Sulffridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Diamond Fire crew was part of a contingent of out-of-state firefighters brought in through coordination from the California Office of Emergency Services and the U.S. Forest Service, according to Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Oct. 27 a firefighter identified as 29-year-old Titan Cheatham, who was hired by the Ashland-Oregon based firm Pacific Oasis, was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11783857/firefighter-injured-in-kincade-blaze-was-working-for-a-private-company\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seriously injured\u003c/a> in the Kincade Fire. Cheatham's identity was first revealed by \u003ca href=\"https://www.ijpr.org/post/firefighter-ashland-contractor-injured-kincade-fire#stream/0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jefferson Public Radio\u003c/a> and later confirmed by a Pacific Oasis official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State workplace regulators said Cheatham was operating a chainsaw when the device's fuel cap came off and splashed his pants with fuel, which then ignited from a nearby spot fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cheatham received second- and third-degree burns to his legs and was taken to UC Davis Medical Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This accident resulted in severe burns to Titan's lower legs,\" said Steve Dodds, who co-owns Pacific Oasis, in an email. \"Our main concerns remain his physical and mental condition and his recovery.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11783857","hero":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/10/Firefighters-battle-barn-fire-kincade-fire-1020x665.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Pacific Oasis crew was hired under an interagency agreement administered by the Oregon Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service, according to Dodds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wills, with California Professional Firefighters, said the injuries raise worries about the potential of more contract firefighters being used in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We would be concerned about any increase in deployment of private firefighting crews in California,\" Wills said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When private crews are sent into California from other states, there is no guarantee they have the proper training, experience and safety standards required of California's paid and volunteer firefighters,\" he said. \"This is especially dangerous given the number and intensity of wildfires in California.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dodds, of Pacific Oasis, said his company has a long history of working for state agencies, the federal government and private landowners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Over the past 15 years we have provided wildland firefighting resources on almost every notable wildland fire incident in the western United States. Hundreds of wildland fires,\" Dodds said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11784042","hero":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/10/kincade-fire-inmates-1920-1038x576.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The third injury involved an inmate firefighter working through a program run by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), according to Frank Polizzi, a spokesman for California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). Cal/OSHA is investigating all three incidents, Polizzi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The prisoner was cutting a fireline in the Healdsburg area on Oct. 28 when he or she was struck by a rolling dead tree and suffered a broken ankle. CDCR and Cal Fire officials did not have more details on that injury.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The inmate firefighter was one of more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11784042/inmates-saved-homes-in-the-kincade-fire-theyll-face-an-uphill-battle-getting-firefighting-jobs-after-release\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">400 state prisoners\u003c/a> who helped Cal Fire get a handle on the Kincade Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all, four firefighters were injured in the Kincade Fire. The other injury involved an eye injury to a firefighter, McLean said. No other details have been released about that case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2019/10/23/kincade-fire/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kincade blaze\u003c/a>, which has burned close to 78,000 acres and destroyed 374 structures, is 84 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11784966/injuries-to-2-contractors-1-inmate-firefighter-in-kincade-blaze-prompt-state-investigation","authors":["258"],"programs":["news_72"],"categories":["news_19906","news_8","news_356"],"tags":["news_6383","news_6145","news_5043","news_25237","news_18512","news_21241","news_26914","news_19904","news_4463"],"featImg":"news_11785111","label":"news_72"},"news_11784042":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11784042","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11784042","score":null,"sort":[1572655409000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"inmates-saved-homes-in-the-kincade-fire-theyll-face-an-uphill-battle-getting-firefighting-jobs-after-release","title":"Inmates Saved Homes in the Kincade Fire. They’ll Face an Uphill Battle Getting Firefighting Jobs After Release","publishDate":1572655409,"format":"image","headTitle":"The California Report | KQED News","labelTerm":{"term":72,"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>More than 400 inmate firefighters helped California beat back the massive \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11782314/what-you-need-to-know-sonoma-countys-kincade-fire\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kincade Fire\u003c/a> that destroyed scores of homes and charred tens of thousands of acres in Sonoma County over the last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their work — which in one case helped save homes in and near the town of Windsor in a dramatic firefight as the blaze intensified — continues to stir debate over the use of cheap labor in battling California's largest wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For some of the inmates who traveled across the state to wage war on the Kincade Fire, it was an exhilarating experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'll remember this for the rest of my life,\" said Gary Minnick, a 39-year-old inmate firefighter assigned to the Valley View Conservation Camp in Elk Creek (Glenn County). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) operates 44 Conservation Camps — commonly called fire camps — in partnership with Cal Fire and the L.A. County Fire Department in 27 counties across California. Approximately 3,700 inmates currently work at fire camps, according to CDCR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11784472\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire-800x530.jpg\" alt=\"Inmate firefighters take a break while battling the Kincade Fire on Oct. 29, 2019 near Healdsburg.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11784472\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire-800x530.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire-1200x796.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inmate firefighters take a break while battling the Kincade Fire on Oct. 29, 2019 near Healdsburg. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Minnick, who is serving four years on drug charges, was working the Kincade Fire with a team of fellow prisoners on Sunday when the severe winds fueling the Sonoma County blaze were reaching gusts of up to 80 mph.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters scrambled, and Minnick and the rest of his team had to protect residences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They saved several homes that day,\" said Ben Ingwerson, a CDCR lieutenant and commander at the conservation camp. He said the inmates that waged war on the Kincade Fire were all convicted of low-level, non violent crimes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That night, as the fire approached Shiloh Road, Minnick and other members of the inmate crew used saws and hand tools to hack a six-foot barrier around a home. Then the fire moved around the house and flames spread to shrubs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We got trapped in the driveway,\" Minnick said. He sprayed water from a five gallon drum onto the encroaching flames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We put a couple bushes around the back out, tried to save the house while we waited for the fire in the front to die down,\" Minnick said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfTORgvMmm4\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>In the above video provided by CDCR's Ingwerson, a Cal Fire firefighter who was leading Minnick and the rest of the inmate crew puts out a spot fire in the backyard. The house did not burn down, and the crew made it out safety.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The battle to save Windsor was heralded as a key one in Cal Fire's war against the Kincade blaze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Jones, an inmate on the Valley View crew serving four years on burglary charges, has helped battle several wildfires. He said the Kincade blaze was different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"The Kincade Fire\" tag=\"kincade-fire\"]\"A lot more direct attack, a lot more flames licking in your face in situations where you've got to get in and out quickly with no margin for error,\" said Jones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He described the fire that approached the crew at Shiloh Ridge as \"a wall of flame that was literally eating houses as it came toward us.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Kincade Fire, inmate firefighters worked to construct firebreaks, which crews dig down to bare soil to try and keep a wildfire from spreading. Some inmates worked in mobile kitchen units to help feed firefighters at base camp in Santa Rosa, according to CDCR officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent days, dozens of inmate firefighters were sent to the Tick Fire and Getty fires in Southern California, and to the Burris Fire in Mendocino County, state prison officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every year, California sends inmate crews to help battle some of the state's largest blazes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Close to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11706219/more-than-1000-inmate-firefighters-are-helping-battle-camp-woolsey-blazes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">800 inmates were sent to the Camp Fire\u003c/a> in Butte County in 2018, and several were injured. Others were deployed to the Woolsey Fire in Southern California the same year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2017 more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11623289/hundreds-of-the-firefighters-battling-sonoma-fires-inmates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">650 state inmates helped battle the North Bay\u003c/a> firestorm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Little Pay, Difficult Job Prospects\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Every fire season, as press reports emerge revealing the state's use of prisoners as members of its firefighter armies, criminal justice advocates point out how little inmates get paid to do the dangerous work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They say it's unjust that prisoners, a vulnerable population of workers, can't unionize and lack some job protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11686212/rare-honors-this-weekend-for-inmate-firefighters-killed-on-the-job\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">three inmate firefighters died on the job\u003c/a> between spring, 2017 and autumn, 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11686212]Presidential candidate Julian Castro recently tweeted out an article about a legislative effort to help inmates get careers in firefighting after they finish their sentences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In California incarcerated people are risking their lives battling wildfires for $1/hour. Yet these same people are barred from firefighting after release,\" Castro said. \"It's wrong. If you can save lives serving a sentence, you can save lives when you're released.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/JulianCastro/status/1189040291283656705?s=20\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But state prison officials say that's not true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Depending on their skill level, inmate firefighters earn between $2.90 and $5.12 per day, according to Alexandra Powell, a CDCR spokeswoman. When prisoners are assigned to an active emergency, they earn an additional $1 per hour, Powell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inmate firefighters also get two days off their prison sentence for every one day they serve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Choosing to serve their prison sentence in a camp also provides inmates with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience while giving back to the community in a meaningful way,\" Powell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She emphasized that a felony conviction or prison sentence does not disqualify inmates to work for state and federal firefighting agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Many fire camp firefighters have gone to gain employment with Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service and interagency hotshot crews,\" Powell said, pointing to a CDCR \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2018/07/13/2-former-fenner-canyon-fire-camp-inmates-tell-of-success-in-finding-cal-fire-jobs/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">press release\u003c/a> about two former inmates who went onto work for the state's firefighting force.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Powell said state officials developed a firefighter training and certification program last year aimed at helping expand job opportunities for inmates who parole from fire camps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But inmate firefighters have been blocked from working for many city and county firefighting agencies because they must get EMT certifications. State law forbids people from such certifications if they are convicted of a felony, a policy the Los Angeles Times, in an \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-11-01/california-inmate-firefighters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">editorial\u003c/a>, recently called absurd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11784527\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire-800x589.jpg\" alt=\"Inmate firefighters prepare to put out flames on the road leading to the Reagan Presidential Library during the Easy Fire in Simi Valley on Oct. 30, 2019.\" width=\"800\" height=\"589\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11784527\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire-800x589.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire-160x118.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire-1020x751.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire-1200x884.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inmate firefighters prepare to put out flames on the road leading to the Reagan Presidential Library during the Easy Fire in Simi Valley on Oct. 30, 2019. \u003ccite>(MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jason Dixon, another inmate on the Valley View Conservation Camp crew, said he came face-to-face with the Kincade blaze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I've been up close to the flames. Fought them hand to hand. Close to enough to singe your beard hairs,\" Dixon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said working as a firefighter is better than living in a traditional state prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's much better living out in the open doors. Not behind the bars with all the stuff going on there. You are out saving lives and homes,\" Dixon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jones said when he gets out of prison he plans on applying to the state's firefighter training program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I love what we are doing here. I feel like I've found my niche,\" he said. \"It has allowed me to pick the direction I want to go.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"More than 400 inmate firefighters helped beat back the massive Sonoma County blaze. They're paid little for dangerous work, and are blocked from working for many city and county firefighting agencies upon release.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1572655634,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":true,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":42,"wordCount":1245},"headData":{"title":"Inmates Saved Homes in the Kincade Fire. They’ll Face an Uphill Battle Getting Firefighting Jobs After Release | KQED","description":"More than 400 inmate firefighters helped beat back the massive Sonoma County blaze. They're paid little for dangerous work, and are blocked from working for many city and county firefighting agencies upon release.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Inmates Saved Homes in the Kincade Fire. They’ll Face an Uphill Battle Getting Firefighting Jobs After Release","datePublished":"2019-11-02T00:43:29.000Z","dateModified":"2019-11-02T00:47:14.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"disqusIdentifier":"11784042 https://ww2.kqed.org/news/?p=11784042","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2019/11/01/inmates-saved-homes-in-the-kincade-fire-theyll-face-an-uphill-battle-getting-firefighting-jobs-after-release/","disqusTitle":"Inmates Saved Homes in the Kincade Fire. They’ll Face an Uphill Battle Getting Firefighting Jobs After Release","path":"/news/11784042/inmates-saved-homes-in-the-kincade-fire-theyll-face-an-uphill-battle-getting-firefighting-jobs-after-release","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>More than 400 inmate firefighters helped California beat back the massive \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11782314/what-you-need-to-know-sonoma-countys-kincade-fire\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kincade Fire\u003c/a> that destroyed scores of homes and charred tens of thousands of acres in Sonoma County over the last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their work — which in one case helped save homes in and near the town of Windsor in a dramatic firefight as the blaze intensified — continues to stir debate over the use of cheap labor in battling California's largest wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For some of the inmates who traveled across the state to wage war on the Kincade Fire, it was an exhilarating experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'll remember this for the rest of my life,\" said Gary Minnick, a 39-year-old inmate firefighter assigned to the Valley View Conservation Camp in Elk Creek (Glenn County). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) operates 44 Conservation Camps — commonly called fire camps — in partnership with Cal Fire and the L.A. County Fire Department in 27 counties across California. Approximately 3,700 inmates currently work at fire camps, according to CDCR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11784472\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire-800x530.jpg\" alt=\"Inmate firefighters take a break while battling the Kincade Fire on Oct. 29, 2019 near Healdsburg.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11784472\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire-800x530.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire-1200x796.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Kincade-Fire.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inmate firefighters take a break while battling the Kincade Fire on Oct. 29, 2019 near Healdsburg. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Minnick, who is serving four years on drug charges, was working the Kincade Fire with a team of fellow prisoners on Sunday when the severe winds fueling the Sonoma County blaze were reaching gusts of up to 80 mph.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters scrambled, and Minnick and the rest of his team had to protect residences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They saved several homes that day,\" said Ben Ingwerson, a CDCR lieutenant and commander at the conservation camp. He said the inmates that waged war on the Kincade Fire were all convicted of low-level, non violent crimes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That night, as the fire approached Shiloh Road, Minnick and other members of the inmate crew used saws and hand tools to hack a six-foot barrier around a home. Then the fire moved around the house and flames spread to shrubs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We got trapped in the driveway,\" Minnick said. He sprayed water from a five gallon drum onto the encroaching flames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We put a couple bushes around the back out, tried to save the house while we waited for the fire in the front to die down,\" Minnick said.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/mfTORgvMmm4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/mfTORgvMmm4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>In the above video provided by CDCR's Ingwerson, a Cal Fire firefighter who was leading Minnick and the rest of the inmate crew puts out a spot fire in the backyard. The house did not burn down, and the crew made it out safety.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The battle to save Windsor was heralded as a key one in Cal Fire's war against the Kincade blaze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Jones, an inmate on the Valley View crew serving four years on burglary charges, has helped battle several wildfires. He said the Kincade blaze was different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"The Kincade Fire ","tag":"kincade-fire"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\"A lot more direct attack, a lot more flames licking in your face in situations where you've got to get in and out quickly with no margin for error,\" said Jones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He described the fire that approached the crew at Shiloh Ridge as \"a wall of flame that was literally eating houses as it came toward us.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Kincade Fire, inmate firefighters worked to construct firebreaks, which crews dig down to bare soil to try and keep a wildfire from spreading. Some inmates worked in mobile kitchen units to help feed firefighters at base camp in Santa Rosa, according to CDCR officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent days, dozens of inmate firefighters were sent to the Tick Fire and Getty fires in Southern California, and to the Burris Fire in Mendocino County, state prison officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every year, California sends inmate crews to help battle some of the state's largest blazes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Close to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11706219/more-than-1000-inmate-firefighters-are-helping-battle-camp-woolsey-blazes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">800 inmates were sent to the Camp Fire\u003c/a> in Butte County in 2018, and several were injured. Others were deployed to the Woolsey Fire in Southern California the same year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2017 more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11623289/hundreds-of-the-firefighters-battling-sonoma-fires-inmates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">650 state inmates helped battle the North Bay\u003c/a> firestorm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Little Pay, Difficult Job Prospects\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Every fire season, as press reports emerge revealing the state's use of prisoners as members of its firefighter armies, criminal justice advocates point out how little inmates get paid to do the dangerous work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They say it's unjust that prisoners, a vulnerable population of workers, can't unionize and lack some job protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11686212/rare-honors-this-weekend-for-inmate-firefighters-killed-on-the-job\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">three inmate firefighters died on the job\u003c/a> between spring, 2017 and autumn, 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11686212","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Presidential candidate Julian Castro recently tweeted out an article about a legislative effort to help inmates get careers in firefighting after they finish their sentences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In California incarcerated people are risking their lives battling wildfires for $1/hour. Yet these same people are barred from firefighting after release,\" Castro said. \"It's wrong. If you can save lives serving a sentence, you can save lives when you're released.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"singleTwitterStatus","attributes":{"named":{"id":"1189040291283656705"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>But state prison officials say that's not true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Depending on their skill level, inmate firefighters earn between $2.90 and $5.12 per day, according to Alexandra Powell, a CDCR spokeswoman. When prisoners are assigned to an active emergency, they earn an additional $1 per hour, Powell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inmate firefighters also get two days off their prison sentence for every one day they serve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Choosing to serve their prison sentence in a camp also provides inmates with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience while giving back to the community in a meaningful way,\" Powell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She emphasized that a felony conviction or prison sentence does not disqualify inmates to work for state and federal firefighting agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Many fire camp firefighters have gone to gain employment with Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service and interagency hotshot crews,\" Powell said, pointing to a CDCR \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2018/07/13/2-former-fenner-canyon-fire-camp-inmates-tell-of-success-in-finding-cal-fire-jobs/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">press release\u003c/a> about two former inmates who went onto work for the state's firefighting force.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Powell said state officials developed a firefighter training and certification program last year aimed at helping expand job opportunities for inmates who parole from fire camps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But inmate firefighters have been blocked from working for many city and county firefighting agencies because they must get EMT certifications. State law forbids people from such certifications if they are convicted of a felony, a policy the Los Angeles Times, in an \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-11-01/california-inmate-firefighters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">editorial\u003c/a>, recently called absurd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11784527\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire-800x589.jpg\" alt=\"Inmate firefighters prepare to put out flames on the road leading to the Reagan Presidential Library during the Easy Fire in Simi Valley on Oct. 30, 2019.\" width=\"800\" height=\"589\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11784527\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire-800x589.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire-160x118.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire-1020x751.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire-1200x884.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/11/Inmate-Firefighters-Simi-Reagan-fire.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inmate firefighters prepare to put out flames on the road leading to the Reagan Presidential Library during the Easy Fire in Simi Valley on Oct. 30, 2019. \u003ccite>(MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jason Dixon, another inmate on the Valley View Conservation Camp crew, said he came face-to-face with the Kincade blaze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I've been up close to the flames. Fought them hand to hand. Close to enough to singe your beard hairs,\" Dixon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said working as a firefighter is better than living in a traditional state prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's much better living out in the open doors. Not behind the bars with all the stuff going on there. You are out saving lives and homes,\" Dixon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jones said when he gets out of prison he plans on applying to the state's firefighter training program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I love what we are doing here. I feel like I've found my niche,\" he said. \"It has allowed me to pick the direction I want to go.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11784042/inmates-saved-homes-in-the-kincade-fire-theyll-face-an-uphill-battle-getting-firefighting-jobs-after-release","authors":["11608","258"],"programs":["news_72"],"categories":["news_19906","news_6188","news_8","news_356"],"tags":["news_19542","news_18512","news_21241","news_26914","news_19904","news_4981","news_17041"],"featImg":"news_11784140","label":"news_72"},"news_11706219":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11706219","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11706219","score":null,"sort":[1542328245000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"more-than-1000-inmate-firefighters-are-helping-battle-camp-woolsey-blazes","title":"More Than 1,000 Inmate Firefighters Are Helping Battle Camp, Woolsey Blazes","publishDate":1542328245,"format":"standard","headTitle":"The California Report | KQED News","labelTerm":{"term":72,"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>Close to 1,400 inmate firefighters have been deployed to battle the massive wildfires burning on both sides of California, according to state prison and fire officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of them, about 1,000, have been assigned to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11705243/california-wildfires-what-you-need-to-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Camp Fire\u003c/a> burning in Butte County, the most destructive and deadliest wildfire on state record. Around 400 are working the \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2282\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Woolsey Fire\u003c/a> in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already some of them have suffered serious injuries. Two inmate firefighters are among the five firefighters who sustained serious burns during the first 24 hours of the Camp Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two prisoners, along with a fire captain, were burned \"while preplanning and preparing for a firing operation\" last Thursday afternoon, according to an initial report — known as a Blue Sheet — published by Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The injuries took place in the town of Paradise, said Vicky Waters, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 27-year-old inmate received burns to 3 percent of his body, and was treated and released from an outside hospital, according to Waters. A 30-year-old inmate sustained minor injuries and was also released from the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Waters said both inmates were released to the state prison system and are in good condition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health launched investigations into the incident on Wednesday, according to agency spokesman Frank Polizzi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State corrections officials say inmate firefighters are paid an average of $2 a day when they're in fire camps and an additional $1 an hour when they're assigned to an active fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inmate firefighters are often called to help Cal Fire battle big blazes annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CDCR has said the inmate firefighting program can save the state up to $100 million a year. Prison officials note that inmates who volunteer as firefighters can get time off their sentences, and they emphasize that injuries to prison firefighters are rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch3>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11686212/rare-honors-this-weekend-for-inmate-firefighters-killed-on-the-job\">Rare Honors for Inmate Firefighters Killed on the Job\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cfigure>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11686212/rare-honors-this-weekend-for-inmate-firefighters-killed-on-the-job\">\u003cimg src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/08/20705394_1495912958.3739.jpeg\" alt=\"\">\u003c/a>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But in the last 18 months, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11686212/rare-honors-this-weekend-for-inmate-firefighters-killed-on-the-job\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">three California prison firefighters were killed on the job\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those deaths, and in general the use of inmates to help the state battle big blazes, have renewed criticism from criminal justice advocates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If these prisoners can be trusted to be running around outside with axes and chainsaws, maybe they didn't need to be in prison in the first place,\" said David Fathi, director of the ACLU's National Prison Project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most prisoners want to work, and jobs for inmates can be a very positive thing, Fathi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"But given the vast power disparity between prisoners and their employers, there is also a real risk of exploitation and abuse,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fathi said inmates are a uniquely vulnerable workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's very little in prison that is truly voluntary. So when prisoners 'volunteer' for dangerous work like fighting wildfires, it's critical to ensure that they're making a free and uncoerced choice, a choice that is fully informed about the risks and dangers of the work they're agreeing to do.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some critics claim that inmate firefighters are not allowed to work for Cal Fire after they're released from prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prison officials say that's not true. They say having a felony conviction does not disqualify a person from employment with Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's very unfortunate that there is so much misinformation out there,\" Waters said in an email, pointing to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.insidecdcr.ca.gov/2018/07/2-former-fenner-canyon-fire-camp-inmates-tell-of-success-in-finding-cal-fire-jobs/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">press release\u003c/a> the agency put out over the summer, highlighting that two former inmates got jobs at Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials have yet to respond to questions about their rules associated with employing inmate firefighters after they're released from state prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/07/25/california-leans-heavily-on-thousands-of-inmate-firefighters/\">KQED has profiled inmate firefighting crews\u003c/a> in the past, and produced the following video detailing their work.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://vimeo.com/101666018\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"In the last 18 months, three California prison firefighters were killed on the job. Those deaths and, more broadly, the use of inmates to help the state battle big blazes, have renewed criticism from criminal justice advocates.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1542331586,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":25,"wordCount":637},"headData":{"title":"More Than 1,000 Inmate Firefighters Are Helping Battle Camp, Woolsey Blazes | KQED","description":"In the last 18 months, three California prison firefighters were killed on the job. Those deaths and, more broadly, the use of inmates to help the state battle big blazes, have renewed criticism from criminal justice advocates.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"More Than 1,000 Inmate Firefighters Are Helping Battle Camp, Woolsey Blazes","datePublished":"2018-11-16T00:30:45.000Z","dateModified":"2018-11-16T01:26:26.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"disqusIdentifier":"11706219 https://ww2.kqed.org/news/?p=11706219","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2018/11/15/more-than-1000-inmate-firefighters-are-helping-battle-camp-woolsey-blazes/","disqusTitle":"More Than 1,000 Inmate Firefighters Are Helping Battle Camp, Woolsey Blazes","path":"/news/11706219/more-than-1000-inmate-firefighters-are-helping-battle-camp-woolsey-blazes","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Close to 1,400 inmate firefighters have been deployed to battle the massive wildfires burning on both sides of California, according to state prison and fire officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of them, about 1,000, have been assigned to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11705243/california-wildfires-what-you-need-to-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Camp Fire\u003c/a> burning in Butte County, the most destructive and deadliest wildfire on state record. Around 400 are working the \u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2282\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Woolsey Fire\u003c/a> in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already some of them have suffered serious injuries. Two inmate firefighters are among the five firefighters who sustained serious burns during the first 24 hours of the Camp Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two prisoners, along with a fire captain, were burned \"while preplanning and preparing for a firing operation\" last Thursday afternoon, according to an initial report — known as a Blue Sheet — published by Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The injuries took place in the town of Paradise, said Vicky Waters, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 27-year-old inmate received burns to 3 percent of his body, and was treated and released from an outside hospital, according to Waters. A 30-year-old inmate sustained minor injuries and was also released from the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Waters said both inmates were released to the state prison system and are in good condition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health launched investigations into the incident on Wednesday, according to agency spokesman Frank Polizzi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State corrections officials say inmate firefighters are paid an average of $2 a day when they're in fire camps and an additional $1 an hour when they're assigned to an active fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inmate firefighters are often called to help Cal Fire battle big blazes annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CDCR has said the inmate firefighting program can save the state up to $100 million a year. Prison officials note that inmates who volunteer as firefighters can get time off their sentences, and they emphasize that injuries to prison firefighters are rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch3>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11686212/rare-honors-this-weekend-for-inmate-firefighters-killed-on-the-job\">Rare Honors for Inmate Firefighters Killed on the Job\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cfigure>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11686212/rare-honors-this-weekend-for-inmate-firefighters-killed-on-the-job\">\u003cimg src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/08/20705394_1495912958.3739.jpeg\" alt=\"\">\u003c/a>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But in the last 18 months, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11686212/rare-honors-this-weekend-for-inmate-firefighters-killed-on-the-job\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">three California prison firefighters were killed on the job\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those deaths, and in general the use of inmates to help the state battle big blazes, have renewed criticism from criminal justice advocates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If these prisoners can be trusted to be running around outside with axes and chainsaws, maybe they didn't need to be in prison in the first place,\" said David Fathi, director of the ACLU's National Prison Project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most prisoners want to work, and jobs for inmates can be a very positive thing, Fathi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"But given the vast power disparity between prisoners and their employers, there is also a real risk of exploitation and abuse,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fathi said inmates are a uniquely vulnerable workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's very little in prison that is truly voluntary. So when prisoners 'volunteer' for dangerous work like fighting wildfires, it's critical to ensure that they're making a free and uncoerced choice, a choice that is fully informed about the risks and dangers of the work they're agreeing to do.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some critics claim that inmate firefighters are not allowed to work for Cal Fire after they're released from prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prison officials say that's not true. They say having a felony conviction does not disqualify a person from employment with Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's very unfortunate that there is so much misinformation out there,\" Waters said in an email, pointing to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.insidecdcr.ca.gov/2018/07/2-former-fenner-canyon-fire-camp-inmates-tell-of-success-in-finding-cal-fire-jobs/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">press release\u003c/a> the agency put out over the summer, highlighting that two former inmates got jobs at Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials have yet to respond to questions about their rules associated with employing inmate firefighters after they're released from state prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/07/25/california-leans-heavily-on-thousands-of-inmate-firefighters/\">KQED has profiled inmate firefighting crews\u003c/a> in the past, and produced the following video detailing their work.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"vimeoLink","attributes":{"named":{"vimeoId":"101666018"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11706219/more-than-1000-inmate-firefighters-are-helping-battle-camp-woolsey-blazes","authors":["258"],"programs":["news_72"],"categories":["news_6188","news_8"],"tags":["news_6383","news_24483","news_21241","news_17041","news_4463","news_24487"],"featImg":"news_11706656","label":"news_72"}},"programsReducer":{"possible":{"id":"possible","title":"Possible","info":"Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. 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Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.","airtime":"SUN 2pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.possible.fm/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Possible"},"link":"/radio/program/possible","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"}},"1a":{"id":"1a","title":"1A","info":"1A is home to the national conversation. 1A brings on great guests and frames the best debate in ways that make you think, share and engage.","airtime":"MON-THU 11pm-12am","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/1a.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://the1a.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/1a","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=1188724250&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/1A-p947376/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510316/podcast.xml"}},"all-things-considered":{"id":"all-things-considered","title":"All Things Considered","info":"Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.","airtime":"MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/all-things-considered"},"american-suburb-podcast":{"id":"american-suburb-podcast","title":"American Suburb: The Podcast","tagline":"The flip side of gentrification, told through one town","info":"Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"/news/series/american-suburb-podcast","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"13"},"link":"/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"}},"baycurious":{"id":"baycurious","title":"Bay Curious","tagline":"Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time","info":"KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"\"KQED Bay Curious","officialWebsiteLink":"/news/series/baycurious","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"4"},"link":"/podcasts/baycurious","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9jYXRlZ29yeS9iYXktY3VyaW91cy1wb2RjYXN0L2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdA","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"}},"bbc-world-service":{"id":"bbc-world-service","title":"BBC World Service","info":"The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.","airtime":"MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service","meta":{"site":"news","source":"BBC World Service"},"link":"/radio/program/bbc-world-service","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/","rss":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"}},"code-switch-life-kit":{"id":"code-switch-life-kit","title":"Code Switch / Life Kit","info":"\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />","airtime":"SUN 9pm-10pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"}},"commonwealth-club":{"id":"commonwealth-club","title":"Commonwealth Club of California Podcast","info":"The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.","airtime":"THU 10pm, FRI 1am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Commonwealth Club of California"},"link":"/radio/program/commonwealth-club","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"}},"considerthis":{"id":"considerthis","title":"Consider This","tagline":"Make sense of the day","info":"Make sense of the day. Every weekday afternoon, Consider This helps you consider the major stories of the day in less than 15 minutes, featuring the reporting and storytelling resources of NPR. Plus, KQED’s Bianca Taylor brings you the local KQED news you need to know.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Consider-This-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"Consider This from NPR and KQED","officialWebsiteLink":"/podcasts/considerthis","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"7"},"link":"/podcasts/considerthis","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1503226625?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/coronavirusdaily","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM1NS9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbA","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z6JdCS2d0eFEpXHKI6WqH"}},"forum":{"id":"forum","title":"Forum","tagline":"The conversation starts here","info":"KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.","airtime":"MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal","officialWebsiteLink":"/forum","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"8"},"link":"/forum","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast","rss":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"}},"freakonomics-radio":{"id":"freakonomics-radio","title":"Freakonomics Radio","info":"Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. 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One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.","airtime":"MON-FRI 7pm-8pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/fresh-air","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"}},"here-and-now":{"id":"here-and-now","title":"Here & Now","info":"A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.","airtime":"MON-THU 11am-12pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/here-and-now","subsdcribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"}},"how-i-built-this":{"id":"how-i-built-this","title":"How I Built This with Guy Raz","info":"Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. 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No other part of the globe has experienced such dynamic political and social change in recent years.","airtime":"SAT 3am-4am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Inside-Europe-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Deutsche Welle"},"link":"/radio/program/inside-europe","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-europe/id80106806?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Inside-Europe-p731/","rss":"https://partner.dw.com/xml/podcast_inside-europe"}},"latino-usa":{"id":"latino-usa","title":"Latino USA","airtime":"MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm","info":"Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"http://latinousa.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/latino-usa","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"}},"live-from-here-highlights":{"id":"live-from-here-highlights","title":"Live from Here Highlights","info":"Chris Thile steps to the mic as the host of Live from Here (formerly A Prairie Home Companion), a live public radio variety show. 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Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn","officialWebsiteLink":"/mindshift/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"2"},"link":"/podcasts/mindshift","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"}},"morning-edition":{"id":"morning-edition","title":"Morning Edition","info":"\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.","airtime":"MON-FRI 3am-9am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/morning-edition"},"onourwatch":{"id":"onourwatch","title":"On Our Watch","tagline":"Police secrets, unsealed","info":"For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. 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