Safety Certainly Comes First

Safety is paramount when fighting fires especially in the wild lands. The emphasis in the class for the first 2 days has been on safety. Lets face it- an injured or worse yet – dead firefighter is of no use to anyone so we must keep safe at all times. I have watched videos on how wild land firefighters have gotten seriously burned in fires. A few months ago 5 firefighters were killed in a fire located in Southern California wild land not far from where I want to get sent to fire camp. Sometimes the fires are very unpredictable and the key is once again awareness. Even while working, digging, and cutting – we are required to keep an eye on the fire at all times. I can imagine that it is very exhilarating in a wild land fire and also chaotic. The fire captains see to it that the chaos is organized. I learned yesterday that back in the 1980’s, Yellowstone National Park had a huge fire which destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres which lasted for 2 ½ months. There were thousands of firefighters on hand but the only way the fire was extinguished was by Mother Nature – the rains came. The footage of the fire was incredible as it seemed to move with a vengeance. Nothing could stop this fire and all the best efforts by the firefighters were tried. I hope I don’t get to experience something of this magnitude because it was much too destructive and many firefighters were injured. Frankly, if I would be content working on projects throughout the remainder of my sentence and if I don’t experience a fire I wouldn’t be disappointed.

While waiting for the unlock I decided to get in a quick 3 miles of running which whet my appetite for more exercise. When I got back to the dorm I decided to do 500 pushups. After eating my soup with tuna fish and mustard, I decided to listen to the radio trying to confirm the latest prison overcrowding rumor.

Lately the overcrowding rumors are coming fast and furious and apparently it is my job to decipher what is fact or fiction. Anytime one of my dorm mates hears something about this issue, they immediately come to me. My rendition of these rumors is somewhat different than most of the other inmates. When they hear something, it immediately becomes fact and if what they have said was true, I would be with my family already. I always give the “reality” version of the information which is until something happens - to me I won’t believe anything I hear. The latest article states that the Governor will consider releasing the “old” and the “sick” early from their sentences. The reality of the situation is that no one is being released before their sentence is served since nothing as of yet has been mandated by the Governor. I am concentrating on my new release date which will hopefully be February of next year. I will receive this new release date when I arrive at fire camp so until I learn otherwise I have one more year to go before I get to be with my family. This is what I tell everyone who asks about the early releases; concentrate on your present release date and anything earlier –consider a blessing.

I am able to separate fact from fiction and in my opinion - which I have shared with my dorm mates - is something will happen but it won’t happen for a few more months. What this something is, I really don’t know. However, the state of California is in a crisis within the prison system which I have witnessed firsthand over these last 7 months. I have no idea where all the new inmates are going to be housed because it seems every dorm here is full for the first time in the past few months. It seems logical to me that something has to give and the overcrowding must be relieved.

I was able to stay awake past 10:30 pm writing but it was time to go to sleep. The temperature had dropped once again and the dorm is without any heating so during the night it gets cold. Even though it has gotten so cold, two of my dorm mates like the ceiling fan on. Earlier on when I arrived here, I was rather timid about turning the fan off but after 4 months I have gained some courage. Last night before I went to sleep I turned off the fan. However, 30 minutes later it was back on. Finally somewhere during the night the ceiling fan was turned off but yet again 20 minutes later it was back on. Finally somewhere during the night it was turned off for good. If the weather remains cold, I can see the ceiling fan becoming a problem. It does seem only 2 of my dorm mates want the fan on and the other 34 want it off – the numbers are in my favor. Hopefully, nothing will arise from this silly issue but this is prison and stupid things happen. By the way one of my dorm mates wants the ceiling fan on because it keeps the “dust down”!