The inmate, 22-year-old Shawna Lynn Jones, was struck by a boulder that had rolled down a hill Thursday. She was rushed to UCLA Medical Center in critical condition and taken off life support Friday. Her organs were donated according to her family's wishes, officials said in a statement.
Jones is the third inmate firefighter to die on the fire line since the program began in 1943 and its first female fatality. Female inmates were incorporated into the program in 1983, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Of the roughly 4,000 inmates housed in 44 conservation camps across the state, only a couple hundred are women.
"Her death is a tragic reminder of the danger that inmate firefighters face when they volunteer to confront fires to save homes and lives," said CDCR Secretary Scott Kernan in a statement. "On behalf of all of us in the department, I send my deepest condolences to her family."
Los Angeles County Fire Inspector David Dantic said she was struck by a rock that fell roughly 100 feet. Firefighters on the scene administered CPR.
The blaze broke out shortly before 3 a.m., about two miles north of Pacific Coast Highway on Mulholland Highway, according to Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Randall Wright. The wildfire scorched 10 acres of land before its spread was halted early Thursday morning. No structures were damaged, although a voluntary evacuation had been put into effect temporarily.Jones had come from the Los Angeles County jail system and had been with the Malibu conservation camp since August, said Bill Sessa, a CDCR spokesman.
Typically, inmate firefighters are armed with such tools as shovels and pickaxes, and focus on fire containment lines in often rugged terrain. Inmates operate in crews of about 14 members and under the direction of a Cal Fire captain.
"They are, for all practical purposes, professional firefighters," Sessa said. "They're trained to do the work that they do."
When not fighting wildfires, inmates work on fire-prevention projects. During the winter of 2014, women at the Malibu conservation camp helped to fell and remove diseased trees that would act as fuel for wildfires.Inmates who work in fire camps are carefully screened and evaluated to ensure they have the right temperament and attitude. Anyone with violent tendencies or attitude problems is weeded out, Sessa said.
The cause of Thursday's fire remains under investigation, according to officials. In addition to the prisoner fire crews, the blaze was battled by Los Angeles County and Ventura County firefighters.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-female-inmate-firefighter-death-20160226-story.htmlRead my blog at http://eclecticarcania.blogspot.com/
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