罪犯变英雄：加州囚犯消防员的故事

As flames consume parts of California, an unexpected group of firefighters has put their lives at risk to protect communities: prison inmates.

随着大火吞噬了加州部分地区，一群让人意想不到的消防员也在冒着生命危险保护社区:监狱囚犯。

For $2 per day — and another $1 an hour when battling fires — qualified inmates can volunteer to help authorities combat fires.

只要每天2美元，再加上在扑火时每小时1美元，合格的囚犯就可以志愿帮助当局扑火。

More than 1,500 of the roughly 9,000 firefighters dealing with the current fires are through the state's Conservation Camp Program, which began working with fire officials to add firefighters in the 1940s.

在应对当前大火的大约9000名消防员中，有1500多名是通过该州的保护营计划(，该计划从20世纪40年代开始与消防官员合作，来帮助消防员们。

For the inmates who volunteer, the program offers sentence reductions and more comfortable prison accommodations.

对于志愿灭火的囚犯，该项目提供减刑和更舒适的监狱住宿。

Inmates who have been convicted of crimes like sexual offenses and arson are not eligible to volunteer.

而犯有性侵犯和纵火罪的囚犯则没有资格成为志愿者。

Participants are given "the same entry-level training" that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, gives its seasonal firefighters, in addition to the same ongoing training, according to the state.

加州森林与消防部门(简称“加州消防”)表示，除了正在进行的相同日常培训外，学员还将接受与加州消防局(简称“加州消防”)季节性消防员“相同的初级培训”。

Daniel Erickson spent five years fighting fires for the state while serving a sentence for drug possession.

丹尼尔·埃里克森在因持有毒品而服刑期间，花了五年时间为国家救火。

His sentence was reduced by a year the first time he went to fire camp.

他第一次去消防营时就减刑了一年。

"I never felt like, 'I can't believe I got myself into this, what was I thinking,' " said Erickson, who now works to install redwood fences.

“我从来没有这样想过，'我简直不敢相信我自己会卷入这件事，我在想什么，’”埃里克森说，他现在在做安装红木栅栏的工作。

"Was I scared at times? Yes, but I've been scared in the regular prison setting more so than on the fire line."

“我有时害怕吗?”“是的，但我在普通监狱里比在火线上更害怕。”

Erickson described working conditions that include temperatures above 100 degrees and "boulders the size of Volkswagens" rolling past him as he and his colleagues fought to protect communities.

埃里克森描述了工作环境，包括温度超过100华氏度，以及在他和他的同事为保护社区而战斗时，“大众汽车般大小的巨石”从他身边滚过。

When inmate firefighters aren't battling blazes, their duties can include maintaining parks, clearing brush and fallen trees, and sand bagging as part of conservation and community service projects, according to the state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

根据该州惩教和康复部门的说法，当囚犯们不与大火搏斗时，他们的职责包括维护公园、清理灌木丛和倒下的树木，以及堆沙袋来作为保护和社区服务项目的一部分。

Using inmates to fight fires saves the state $100 million per year, according to WBUR, but critics say the program amounts to slave labor.

据WBUR统计，用囚犯救火每年可以为州政府节省1亿美元，但是批评者说这个项目相当于奴隶劳动。

In August, David Fathi, director of the ACLU's National Prison Project, said prisoners are a "uniquely vulnerable part of the workforce."

今年8月，美国公民自由联盟国家监狱项目主任大卫·法特希说，囚犯是“劳动力中特别脆弱的一部分”。

While Erickson agrees that inmate firefighters are underpaid, he pushes back at the comparison to slave labor.

虽然埃里克森同意囚犯消防员的工资偏低，但他反对将其比作奴隶劳工。

"This is very, very hard work, and at times I felt like just, I'm done, I can't do no more," he said.

他说:“这是一项非常非常艰难的工作，有时我会觉得我做够了，我再也做不了了。”

"And that's when I would tell the captain ... if we don't want some mistakes and some injuries, we need to lay it down for a minute, and then we would lay down and we would rest."

“这时我就会告诉队长……如果我们不想犯错误，不想受伤，我们需要暂停一分钟，然后我们会躺下来休息。”

It's not just injuries that could happen.

可能发生的意外还不仅仅是受伤。

At least six inmate firefighters have been killed in the line of duty since 1983.

自1983年以来，至少有6名囚犯消防员在执勤中丧生

"A lot of times when an inmate was hurt back in the day, they didn't mention that an inmate firefighter was killed," Erickson said.

埃里克森说:“很多时候，当犯人在白天受伤时，他们不会提到有一名囚犯消防员牺牲。”

"Now they say three firefighters were killed. They didn't say it was an inmate firefighter. They said he was a firefighter, because that's what he was."

“现在他们说有三名消防员遇难。他们没有说那是一名囚犯消防员。他们只说他是消防员，因为他就是消防员。”

The communities that are protected by the inmate firefighters are also aware of the work being done.

被囚犯保护的社区也知道他们正在进行的工作。

Residents in Santa Rosa, Calif., shook hands and shared hugs with a team of inmate firefighters after their neighborhood survived last year's Tubbs Fire, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported last year.

据《圣罗莎新闻报》去年报道，加州圣罗莎(的居民在去年塔布斯大火中幸存下来后，与一组囚犯消防员握手拥抱。

The fire killed 22 people and destroyed roughly 5,600 buildings.

大火造成22人死亡，约5600栋建筑被毁。

Erickson said firefighting was the hardest work he has ever done, but that it was worth it to him.

埃里克森说消防是他做过的最艰苦的工作，但这对他来说是值得的。

"I could be sitting behind the [prison] wall right now, dealing with all the drama that that entails, or I could be out here helping save this part of California because of this disaster."

“我现在可能正坐在(监狱)围墙后面，面临监狱里面的种种冲突，或者因为这场火灾，我可能在这里帮助拯救加州的这个地区。”

The historic disaster will likely continue: This year's Camp Fire is the deadliest wildfire on record for California, killing at least 76 people as of Saturday.

这场具有历史意义的灾难可能会继续下去:今年的营火是加州有记录以来最致命的野火，截至上周六，至少有76人死亡。

对于正用囚犯来充当消防员的做法，朋友们有什么看法呢？欢迎给amber留言哦！

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