The Who We Are Project on Instagram: "Did You Know? 30% of Los Angeles Firefighters Deployed to Fight County Fires Are Incarcerated
Since January 7, 2025, a record 23 wildfires have torched the Los Angeles metropolitan area and surrounding regions. The fires have been exacerbated by drought conditions, low humidity, and hurricane-force Santa Ana winds killing at least 25 people, forcing over 200,000 to evacuate, and damaging over 12,000 homes and other structures, including in the historic Black neighborhood of Altadena. (Wikipedia)
To fight the blazes, California has deployed nearly 800 incarcerated firefighters. These firefighters report working over twenty four hour shifts, no regular bathroom or food breaks in an attempt to save other people’s lives and property they do not own. For being willing to risk their lives, they are paid $5.80-$10.24 a day. In addition, they are paid $1 an hour. No more, no less.
“We’re doing this heroic, crucial work, but many people inside cannot support their family, can barely afford to just get hygiene [supplies] for themselves. Nobody is saving money with wages for when you go home. Nobody is able to send money to cover the expenses their children are incurring.” — Amika Mota, an advocate who served as a firefighter from 2012 to 2015 while incarcerated. (The Guardian)
Despite the critical training and experience they have undergone while incarcerated and the crucial role they serve during these crises, formerly incarcerated firefighters cannot become unincarcerated firefighters because when they are released from prison their incarceration precludes them from doing the same job they did when they were incarcerated. So while the state can benefit from their skills and experience, they ultimately cannot.
Written by Diana Cherry & Jeffery Robinson
Designed by Juliette Hemingway
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/la-wildfires-incarcerated-firefighters
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-01-13/kim-kardashian-incarcerated-firefighters-prison-reform-pay-rate-la-fires#:~:text=Those%20individuals%2C%20who%20are%20prisoners,shift%2C%20according%20to%20Times%20reports."
35 likes, 0 comments - whoweareproject on January 15, 2025: "Did You Know? 30% of Los Angeles Firefighters Deployed to Fight County Fires Are Incarcerated
Since January 7, 2025, a record 23 wildfires have torched the Los Angeles metropolitan area and surrounding regions. The fires have been exacerbated by drought conditions, low humidity, and hurricane-force Santa Ana winds killing at least 25 people, forcing over 200,000 to evacuate, and damaging over 12,000 homes and other structures, including in the historic Black neighborhood of Altadena. (Wikipedia)
To fight the blazes, California has deployed nearly 800 incarcerated firefighters. These firefighters report working over twenty four hour shifts, no regular bathroom or food breaks in an attempt to save other people’s lives and property they do not own. For being willing to risk their lives, they are paid $5.80-$10.24 a day. In addition, they are paid $1 an hour. No more, no less.
“We’re doing this heroic, crucial work, but many people inside cannot support their family, can barely afford to just get hygiene [supplies] for themselves. Nobody is saving money with wages for when you go home. Nobody is able to send money to cover the expenses their children are incurring.” — Amika Mota, an advocate who served as a firefighter from 2012 to 2015 while incarcerated. (The Guardian)
Despite the critical training and experience they have undergone while incarcerated and the crucial role they serve during these crises, formerly incarcerated firefighters cannot become unincarcerated firefighters because when they are released from prison their incarceration precludes them from doing the same job they did when they were incarcerated. So while the state can benefit from their skills and experience, they ultimately cannot.
Written by Diana Cherry & Jeffery Robinson
Designed by Juliette Hemingway
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/la-wildfires-incarcerated-firefighters
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-01-13/kim-kardashian-incarcerated-firefighters-prison-reform-pay-rate-la-fires#:~:text=Those%20individuals%2C%20who%20are%20prisoners,shift%2C%20according%20to%20Times%20reports.".
Did you know? 30% of Los Angeles firefighters deployed to fight county fires are incarcerated.
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