From Bluesky: "I am a former incarcerated firefighter. I served in a California fire camp from 2009 to 2012."

[Dennis Donovan]

‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
I am a former incarcerated firefighter. I served in a California fire camp from 2009 to 2012.

Misinformation is afire on the internet, so here are facts about the prison firefighter program, all in one place.

A thread.

‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- incarcerated wildland firefighters receive between $5.80 and $10.24 per day when not working on emergency incidents
- they receive $1 / hr when working on an incident, which is in addition to the daily stipend
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- they earn additional time served credits and are paroled earlier (I went home 18 months earlier)
- they are eligible to have their criminal records expunged after coming home (mine was expunged last month)
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- wildland firefighting is one of the few voluntary job assignments in the California prison system, voluntary in the sense that a person isn't sent to fire camp unless they ask and / or agree to it
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- they are eligible to apply to US Forest Service for firefighting jobs after release; CalFire has a training program in Ventura County just for formerly incarcerated firefighters; expungement of the criminal record should make it easier to get jobs in other jurisdictions or fields
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- incarcerated wildland firefighters live outside the prison walls; they do not return to a prison cell after the fire is over
- they have humane picnic-style visits with family, often in an outdoor park setting with BBQ pits
- there are no armed guards in fire camps
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- camps are typically in nature, and daily exercise includes hiking and running through the mountains
- there are actual weights and gym equipment in fire camps, amenities that were removed from CA prisons decades ago
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- incarcerated wildland firefighters who have lived in fire camp for some time typically parole with sizable amounts of money, relative to other prisoners in CA
- they eat good and plentiful food for standard meals; they get steak and rib meals during and after incidents
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- they get a sense of purpose in doing something valuable
- they get to utilize hobby shops for painting, sculpture, woodworking, metalworking, clock building, etc
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
While working at a fire, disaster, or other type of incident:

- shifts of 24 hours are typical, though they can be longer during the initial phases of an incident or during extreme circumstances
- meals during the active shift are irregular for obvious reasons
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- showers do not happen during shifts for obvious reasons
- at completion of a 24-hour shift, there is typically a 24-hour, fully paid rest shift at a base camp
- these conditions are the same as for free firefighters
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
On the program:

- firefighter training provided by CalFire happens at a prison, not at a fire camp
- the training includes PFT, physical fitness training, and FFT, firefighting training
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- the PFT lasts a couple of weeks and FFT lasts a couple of weeks
- the FFT is not the exact same training that a CalFire employee would receive because incarcerated firefighters have a narrower job duty
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- they are trained as wildland firefighters, which means they fight fires with chainsaws, Pulaskis, McLeods, and shovels (hand tools)
- they aren't trained to use a fire hose or run an engine, nor as the type of firefighter that goes into buildings, rescues people, saves cats, etc
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- their task is to cut a fire break between what is burning and what has yet to burn
- wildland firefighters are not the same as city / structure firefighters
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- when not on a fire, the incarcerated firefighter crews typically do community projects, such as brush abatement, trail maintenance, tree-felling in parks, etc
- they are not supervised by correctional officers 24/7; during regular work days, they are "checked out" to the fire department
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- they work on service projects during the day and return to the prison camp at the end of the work day
- when they are on a fire, guards accompany the crews to the incident, but they do not go with the crew into the fire
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
Eligibility for the incarcerated firefighter program:

- minimum security status
- no active warrants
- no physical, medical, or psychiatric conditions (there are no clinics or pharmacies in remote fire camps)
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
- recent, clear disciplinary history
- less than 8 years remaining on sentence
- no convictions for serious violence, sex, arson, or escape attempts
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
Those are the facts as far as I know them. Now for some opinions.
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
An argument can be made that choosing to go to fire camp isn't a choice due to the inhumane conditions behind the prison walls. There is merit in this argument.
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‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
12h
Yet, the fire camps remain the most humane places to serve time in the California prison system, and it is the only program that offers full expungement of criminal records after release.

Folks don't go to fire camp for the money, they go for the freedom.
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Matthew Hahn
‪@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
And this is (part) of why I was in prison in the first place:

‪Matthew Hahn‬ ‪
@hahnscratch.bsky.social‬
2mo
I once burgled a home & stole a safe. I cracked the safe & discovered photos of the owner molesting a child. He reported the burglary to police. I turned the photos in. The cops called him in to discuss the burglary. He confessed. We both went to prison.

January 14, 2025 at 8:20 PM

Fascinating read.

https://bsky.app/profile/hahnscratch.bsky.social/post/3lfqlxqata625