Prisoners given opportunity to train as firefighters

July 15, 2011

neighbors call it a crime magnet ... but that hasn't stopped them from fighting the biggest wildfires our state has ever seen. and this special group of inmates in los lunas is getting a chance at a new career opportunity. jeff maher is here with the story. jeff. it's called the inmate work camp program. it's run by new mexico state forestry, and puts non-violent inmates in a setting that goes far beyond concrete walls and barbed wire fences. when the las conchas fire hit its peak -- and posed the biggest threat to los alamos, hundreds of firefighters stormed the lines. one of them, is serving a roughly two-year sentence at the central new mexico correctional facility in los lunas. "pretty intense, there was a lot of fires up there, we were on structure protection at the pajarito ski area making sure that it didn't burn" timothy duncan, who has fought in 14 different fires this year, is proud to have helped save the ski resort. "it's like the only green spot on the mountain right now" duncan is not alone. "these are files, this is how we keep our tools sharp, and here is the one for the chain" there are 59 other inmates who are now trained firefighters, including aaron evangel, who helped save a rancher's home at the loop fire. "i never imagined when i came to prison that i would be fighting fires or doing some of the other stuff that i've done" the inmates, under supervision, head out to the fires in these state forestry trucks -- "this is where we keep all of our chainsaws and stuff like that" and there's a long list of inmates waiting to sign up. "they get out, they get fed normal food, they get to get away from the facility, a lot of the times they get treated like everyone else on the fire line" "we all make mistakes and i believe getting into this will definitely occupy my time a lot more and give me a reason to get out there and be a productive member of society again" all three of those inmates i interviewed today plan to become firefighters once they are released from prison. one, says he's already gotten some job offers.