Women Prisoners Fight Fires

[DogPoundPup]

Source: New America Media

With every step she takes toward the fire, Ana Arredondo thinks of her children. She knows that every time she faces the flames, there is the possibility that she will see them soon.

Ana is one of more than 1,500 California inmates that has been fighting the Southern California fires for the past 72 hours.

Her job is to lead the way for firefighters, a task that also requires loading up to 60 pounds on her shoulders. She receives a dollar a day for her work, and although it isn’t much, she will be rewarded with the promise of a reduced sentence.

Her muscles are trembling, she hasn’t slept for more than 24 hours and she smells like ashes, but Ana is happy. Thanks to her work, her sentence has been reduced and she now has the opportunity to start a career as a fire investigator, one of her biggest dreams.


Read more: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=135f26871cae99ebf11a3eef6aec788e

[ogneopasno]

1. Slave labor.

[Lerkfish]

2. I have very mixed feelings about this.

the article details the good of this arrangement.

the bad is that it amounts to coercion to offer a dangerous job to an unskilled inmate to reduce their sentence and pay them squat. I'd be interested how the firemans' union feels about this.

[stray cat]

5. My understanding is in a fire like this all the firefighters they can recruit are needed

and they have to recruit others (non-fire fighters) to help ferry supplies.

[glowing]

3. And taking away from someone being paid actual wages.. It is slave labor.

[LostinVA]

7. No, it's in addition to the firefighters

I've been very close to really bad wildfires when I lived in FL for a year -- they need every literal body they can get.

[stray cat]

4. It sounds like its their choice - much like the firefighters themselves

Best wishes to all of them

[azurnoir]

6. They are being assisgned the most dangerous tasks

because they are expendable

Her job is to lead the way for firefighters, a task that also requires loading up to 60 pounds on her shoulders. She receives a dollar a day for her work, and although it isn’t much, she will be rewarded with the promise of a reduced sentence.

They are risking their lives for a "reduced" sentance