Firefighters and Camps
Fire crews are incarcerated participants in the Conservation Camp Program. Also, CDCR staff and incarcerated firefighters work at institution firehouses. The primary mission of the Conservation Camp Program is to support state, local and federal government agencies responding to emergencies. These include fires, floods, and other natural or manmade disasters.
Sierra Conservation Center hosted a regional Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) Training Drill on June 1, helping county and state agencies...
Twenty-six formerly incarcerated firefighters recently graduated from the Ventura Training Center (VTC). Those who complete the program are highly qualified...
Read More About VTC graduates 26 formerly incarcerated firefighters
CDCR’s Ishi Conservation Camp and CAL FIRE hosted the 37th Annual Spring Training Exercises to ensure new firefighter crews are...
In 2019, we met Anthony Pedro, a devoted young father who had recently paroled after serving time as an incarcerated...
Read More About Future Fire Academy fosters firefighting careers
Cecil Yahtin, an incarcerated firefighter at California Men's Colony Camp Cuesta, is using art to honor firefighters across the state....
Read More About Camp Cuesta firefighter honors others through art
Two formerly incarcerated firefighters who co-founded the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program (FFRP) recently received a leadership award and a...
Read More About Two formerly incarcerated firefighters receive leadership award and grant
Kelly Witt, a fire captain for CDCR, has served the department for eight years, but it wasn’t the endgame she...
Read More About Fire Captain Kelly Witt started as volunteer
Firefighters battling two large fires received some much needed help from staff at North Kern State Prison (NKSP). Chief Nurse...
Read More About NKSP assists crews with Windy, Complex Fires
In the early morning of September 22, California Men’s Colony (CMC) Fire Captain Powell and the incarcerated firefighters of Fire...
Read More About California Men’s Colony firefighters assist in house fire
California’s conservation camp program can trace its roots to the highway camps of the early 1900s. Back then, incarcerated people...
Read More About Closer look at life in a California conservation camp