Incarcerated firefighters are a critical part of California’s wildfire strategy, making up nearly half of emergency response hours during last year’s wildfire season.
California prison officials run dozens of conservation or “fire” camps, which provide participants with training and give them a chance to earn some money, as well as time off their sentences.
But after being released, many of these formerly-incarcerated firefighters may face difficulties landing a job, despite having experience on the fire line.
A new bill at the State Capitol, AB 2483, aims to make that transition easier.
If passed, California would create a pathway to provide an official certification for those that receive firefighter training while incarcerated. It would also provide a hiring preference with Cal Fire for formerly-incarcerated people applying for a Fire Fighter 1 Classification.
AB 2483 is based on a similar bill that failed last year in the legislature, which included a hiring quota within the agency.
Royal Ramey is a former incarcerated firefighter, and the co-founder of the nonprofit Forestry and Firefighting Recruitment Program. The organization provides career support to formerly incarcerated firefighters and supports the new bill.
Ramey spoke with Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez about what this pathway to employment would mean for incarcerated firefighters looking for a career upon release.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
You spent two seasons as an incarcerated firefighter, and then pursued firefighting as a professional career. What drew you to this line of work?
Honestly, when I was in fire camp, I fell in love with it. I wanted to pursue it as a career. Obviously the hard work, the physical ability, the understanding of fire behavior, cutting hand lines, doing all those types of different things, it was challenging. But as you continue to do it, and you see those signs that say “thank you firefighters” when you’re coming back from a shift; I was wearing orange, but I felt like I was actually a firefighter.
I was a young man at the time so being out in the woods, feeling like a hero, and knowing that I’m doing something not only just for myself, but also for the community, really made it that much more special. And I felt I had purpose and value. That was one of the reasons why we started the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, because we knew [there were] other people coming home that felt the same way.
I wanted someone to show me how I can get the right certifications, apply to the right jobs, understand the hiring process. The blueprint didn't really exist for me when I was coming home, so I wanted to be able to provide that opportunity for the other folks. In our program we actually provide a paid training stipend. We give them industry recognized certifications, help them with their physical fitness, career preparedness. We also have that supportive services piece, and a job placement as well.
Do you have an idea of how many incarcerated firefighters there are in California?
I remember when I was in fire camp it was close to 9,000 incarcerated firefighters. That was almost a third of the workforce at that time. But now I know the numbers have dwindled down because of a lot of different laws; I believe it’s a little under 2,000 incarcerated firefighters.
They’re still a nice percentage of the force, but one of the most important pieces is that California needs wildland hand crews. That’s where I think Cal Fire is really trying to hire more firefighters to fill that need, because we relied on incarcerated firefighters since the 1940s. We're definitely trying to help spearhead that, being able to help folks transition not only just with Cal Fire but the federal fire agencies as well.
When you completed your sentence and wanted to get a job as a firefighter, what challenges did you face?
The biggest challenge for me was just understanding the hiring process; every agency has their different requirements. How do I put this experience that I had in fire camp on a resume? Also, when I came home I was on parole, so I had to worry about parole restrictions. Where can I travel, where can I go? Even transportation, being able to have money for a car, because what people don’t realize is that reliable transportation going to these stations is very important. There’s a lot of fire stations in rural areas, especially when you work with the Forest Service and Cal Fire.
Inmate crews hike while battling the Sandy Fire Monday, May 18, 2026, in Simi Valley, Calif.AP Photo/Ethan Swope
And then ultimately though, you’re competing against folks that have their EMT, their Firefighter 1 Academy [certifications.] Another big challenge, to be transparent, is that the fire service has its own culture. Understanding the chain of command, the structure and the expectations, that’s one of the other systems that I really had to understand and learn. When I grew up I lived in an urban community, so being around different people was definitely a challenge.
The fire service is not a 9-to-5, it's a lifestyle. I had to really tell myself that I’m not just the average person. I have to hold myself with integrity, duty, respect, in all different aspects of my life.
What are some of the big misconceptions that you think people have about formerly incarcerated firefighters? What would you like to clear up?
Sometimes people start with fear or assumptions about formerly incarcerated people just in general, instead of looking at their training. Obviously, when you talk about folks that've been formerly incarcerated from fire camp — there’s so many different people that have so many different skills.
I don’t think people were born to be like, “I want to be incarcerated. I want to commit crimes and be a nuisance to society.” It’s so many different things that you don't have control over. We talk about “nature versus nurture,” it’s a lot of how things have happened or shaped peoples’ upbringing.
California spends nearly $128,000 per year on average to incarcerate one person. We’re focusing on locking folks up, but what is the rehabilitation piece? Having access to stable jobs matters when they come home. What are we doing on that grand level? They're human, people make mistakes, and people can change — I have.
Let’s dive into the new legislation, which would provide incarcerated firefighters with official certification and a pathway to a job at Cal Fire. Why is this bill important now?
AB 2483 will help make sure that folks leave with proof of training and education that they completed. [The hiring preference] is a portion of it, but it doesn't guarantee a personal job. People should have to meet those qualifications to compete for this position; it simply means they wouldn’t have to start from zero.
Acknowledging all of the work they have done, it counts for something. This bill also gives people hope; they know that they have some type of clear pathway. When I was in prison, you go to camp. Some people get their time off, some people are making a dollar an hour, which was one of the highest-paid positions in CDCR. But for the people that were like, “I want to utilize the knowledge, skills and abilities I accumulated when I [was] in fire camp,” to be able to take this home and do this at a professional level… we're always in dire need for firefighters. You got people that actually have the experience, why not?fi
Inmates socialize at the Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp, July 14, 2025, in Red Corral, Calif.AP Photo/Ethan Swope
I think the bill also brings together workforce development, public safety and climate resiliency. When you look at California, [incarcerated] folks are receiving the training, obviously working on fires. We know that it's a lot of people. If you can convert that to a person that is with a federal [or] state state agency fighting fire, they have an income. They’re contributing to society, they’re a taxpayer, and they’re reversing that rat race and putting money in from prisons.
A version of this bill was attempted last year. It would have included a hiring quota at Cal Fire but failed in the legislature. What has the response been like to this new bill?
People [are] always apprehensive, obviously, when you talk about incarcerated people. I think a lot of the people that we were having conversations with, they evaluated some of those challenges. I think the quota was one of the biggest pieces because it put Cal Fire at a real tough spot to make sure that they got enough incarcerated people to even apply, and be able to get those spots.
But to be transparent: bills do not move forward just because people agree with the idea. They have to go through committees, fiscal review and decisions about how much that may cost as well. It has to compete with different state priorities. So workforce development, climate resiliency can obviously receive support from both sides; I think it can become more difficult when conversations include the criminal justice and public safety piece.
Our role is to keep educating decision-makers, sharing real stories, and just showing that second chances and public safety go hand-in-hand. Ultimately, it’s about the community. It's about making sure that everybody is safe, but also [so] people have opportunity as well.
California has made several changes over the years to improve the conditions and opportunities for incarcerated firefighters, from increasing the minimum wage last year to making it easier for their cases and sentences to get a second look or expungement. What kind of impact has all this legislation had, is it meaningful?
Definitely. FFRP, we focus mainly on when folks are released. Some of the stuff that we have supported, we definitely vocalized, but we know that incarcerated firefighters perform important and dangerous work.
We talked about the pay, that’s definitely one of the big conversations. But we also talk about training, safety, rehabilitation, other opportunities that people have when they come home. [That’s] definitely helped out a lot of folks, especially with the expungement piece. [It’s] been really uplifting, but we still got some work to do for sure.
We’re excited about all the other things that are happening, but we really want to focus on what we can do when folks come home after the fact. That’s where I think the major impact can happen. When they’re released and have no direction, that’s where challenges come in, when folks can go back to prison and the recidivism rate goes up. That’s a piece I really want to talk to all of the senators and assemblymembers about.
