Big Sur Fire recruiting for Volunteer Firefighters and Seasonal Handcrews

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• I could not, in good conscience, recommend anyone without very through training, to volunteer, and even a lot of professionals don't know enough about fire behavior--especially for chaparral or "brush" fires. Anyone should refuse to work IN brush, ahead of the flame front and know how to survive, with or without "shelters." No one should work fires without proper equipment (e.g., goggles and respirators, fireproof clothing, shelters, water, and a resupply system that works). The smoke and off-gassing can kill you well before you burn.

• You would not believe the hours and hours and weeks of training our volunteer firefighters get. They are trained in EMT, SAR, Helicopter lifts, and so much more They are trained with Cal Fire, USFS, FHL, and Monterey County Regional.

• Good. How about the prisoners?

• They prefer Inmates, and yes, very well trained, and each inmate crew has a Cal Fire crew leader. I had one up at my place doing brush clearance under a grant. Their leader was a friend of mine. There is a documentary out about the training and work of inmates. They train constantly….including physical stamina — up and down mountains with heavy packs, etc. Can’t remember the name, but they followed a crew out of LA and also one female crew. It is really something to see the long orange line going up or down a mountain. Every firefighter I have ever spoken with sings their praises.

• The inmates have housing, do the new volunteers and hand crews have access to local housing or is this a call for volunteers from the Halluci Nation?

• Pay the firefighters who subsidize the capitalist exploitation of Big Sur. There is simply no reason these people should be asked to volunteer when the whole purpose at this point of the fire brigade is to serve post ranch and highway accidents. They can’t put out a residential fire if thier lives depends on it,just based on time and location. Post ranch could not land helicopters legally it out them. As u saw with the bakery,even highway based fires are not gonna be extinguished. The entire purpose of the fire brigade is to serve the commerce sectors. So why should they be asked to subsidize the very destructive forces that have destroyed the community? Thru denial of jobs and housing by hiring illegal. It’s insanity