An elite group of firefighters are roaming the woods. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Department of Corrections recruited these rescuers from a unique type of prison. The firefighter inmates are on their way to a new career, learning the skills necessary to prevent and put out forest fires.
Washington state's Fire Prison Camp Program trains about a dozen inmates to prepare them for firefighting jobs after they complete their sentences.
Kenyatta Bridges joined Arcadia 20 last year while serving a 10-year sentence for a 2014 shooting.
ARC 20 crews learn how to conduct planned burns, handle dangerous equipment and keep fires contained. If necessary, crews will be on the front lines of a fire to dig lines to reduce the risk of fire spreading.
According to ARC 20 management, “teamwork, communication skills, and responsibility for one’s own and others’ actions regarding work and safety” are integral parts of their mindset.
“The guys I worked alongside were incredible,” Bridges said. “We've all made bad decisions in life. Some of us got caught, some of us didn't, but we learn from our mistakes.”
Many Western states have inmate firefighting units, but Washington state's ARC 20 program is unique: ARC 20 recruits inmates to its centers, where they develop firefighting skills and prepare for life after release. They also earn higher salaries than inmates at the state's regular prison firefighting camps.
ARC 20 crew director Ben Hood is on the team that selects the participants.
“We call it 'getting bitten by the fire bug'. Once you're bitten, you're hooked,” Hood says. “It becomes more than just a job. It becomes a lifestyle.”
When team members aren't fighting fires, they live at the Brownstone Re-entry Center, a minimum-security facility in downtown Spokane. Residents participate in work and training programs and have additional freedoms, such as being able to wear their own clothes and own cell phones.
Another team, made up entirely of people serving time in prison, with more restrictions than the ARC 20 team, is housed at Cedar Creek Correctional Center in Olympia. Last summer, the team ran a mobile kitchen for about 1,000 firefighters who were battling two major fires in the state during the 2023 season.
Cedar Creek crew member Timothy Bullock is an electrician who has been jailed on assault charges, and he wants to be a wildland firefighter.
He acknowledges that his actions “have affected other people, people I care about.” He says a prison sentence may have been necessary for him to change his ways. “I am absolutely certain that I will never make this mistake again.”
Supervisors say Brock is an outstanding member of the camp staff at Cedar Creek Correctional Center, and he's submitted an application to ARC20.
Roy Hardin, who worked with Hood to put the team together, said Washington's program could serve as a model for state agencies across the country.
“if [people are] Employed, [have] “They get really good jobs as soon as they get out of prison, they're not going to be homeless and they're probably not going to come back,” Hardin said. Four members of ARC 20 have found jobs with the state fire department.
Bridges, a former inmate, is one of them. On June 3, he began fighting fires with DNR's Arcadia Fire Engine 7405 near Spokane, one of the most fire-prone areas in Washington state.
“He's hard-working and driven,” said Hood, who hired Bridges, “exactly what you want in a firefighter.”
“One thing I believe is that people deserve a second chance,” Bridges said.
God does not retain his anger forever, for he delights in unfailing love. —Micah 7:18
