GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) - Rural Etowah County volunteer fire departments will soon be able to receive firefighting support from county inmates.
“Should any volunteer fire departments need additional manpower putting out grass and wood fires, we take our volunteer group to assist them,” said Scott Hassell, chief deputy for detention.
Volunteer firefighters work day jobs in addition to their fire department commitments, so staffing shortages can be a problem when brush fires erupt during the day. Inmate volunteers, part of the sheriff’s department’s Inmate Conservation Crew, can fill the staff gaps by providing extra manpower for transporting equipment and supplies, raking away underbrush and helping clear foliage, among other tasks.
Hassell cites similar programs in western states like Colorado and California, where prison systems maintain inmate fire brigades that respond to wildfires. For example, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation runs 44 conservation camps throughout the state, with more than 4,500 inmates involved.
Etowah’s program is at a much smaller scale, with 25 volunteer, nonviolent offenders trained in personal safety and the basic mechanics of fire management. The inmates are accompanied by a correctional officer, as well as deputies trained in firefighting, headed by Deputy Greg Harwood.
“Within a 15-minute window, only three or four people (from a volunteer fire department) may show up,” Harwood said. “We could use this to help relieve some of these departments.”
The manpower can make a major difference when containing a fire. A common control technique is to make a “fire break,” where a line of forested area is stripped of foliage and underbrush down to the soil. Without foliage to feed it, the fire stops at the line. The task is often carried out with a bulldozer, but in areas inaccessible to heavy equipment, the break has to be cut with hand tools.
“When you cut a fire break, a hand line can have eight to 20 people cutting,” Harwood said.
In addition to staffing relief, inmates also become invested in the community, an effective method of rehabilitation and crime prevention, according to Hassell.
“The biggest thing is giving back to the communities, showing there’s a worth in helping your fellow man,” he said. “Working to rehabilitate offenders and foster a sense of community pride makes for better, safer places.”
A statewide drought has drastically increased the number of wildfires in Alabama in recent weeks. State officials say more than 1,100 fires in the last month have burned nearly 12,500 acres.
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Information from: The Gadsden Times, https://www.gadsdentimes.com
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