Martin Estacio
Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.
（MCT）
Dec. 20—Haroon Hasmain said he wanted to be a firefighter ever since kindergarten, when he saw a “Stop, Drop and Roll” video, but subsequent events delayed that goal.
“I had a lot of potential growing up, and I had a lot of hope for the future, and just things that ended up happening in my life led me down a completely different path, unfortunately,” he said.
But now, that aspiration has become a reality.
哈斯曼（Hasmain）是圣贝纳迪诺县消防局本月初雇用的九名前囚犯之一。他现在是新成立的努力手工船员的成员。
The crew is part of a six-month pilot program that hires released inmates “in good standing” who will work to reduce fuels and provide other fire-related services, the department said.
In addition to the nine hired on Dec. 7as Public Safety Employees who then began five weeks of training, six more are going through the background stage. The goal is to have a 20-member hand crew, county fire officials said last week.
“It’s almost like a dream come true, it’s too good to be true,” Hasmain said in a department video. “There’s still a chance to get on the right side of the fence.”
More firefighters are needed as Californiasaw a record-breaking wildfire season in 2020 that has so far burned more than 4.2 million acres, according to Cal Fire.
“With fire season being year-round and the amount of fuel reduction projects, the need for additional resources in our County is more prevalent than ever,” said SBCFD Chief Dan Munsey. “Fuels reduction crews have proven to be an invaluable resource in more ways than one.”
The pilot crew program was funded with $300,000 in start-up costs from the county Probation Department’sshare of state revenue provided through the California Public Safety Realignment Act.
The act, passed in 2011, requires that state prisons reduce their number of inmates by transferring low-level offenders to the supervision of counties, according to the SBCFD.
该计划定于10月6日至2021年6月30日持续。
Officials are hoping the program will lead to employment for the former inmates and reduce the number of repeat offenses.
Gabriel Dekker, another crew member hired in December, said he started going to jail “a little early” but was now “fixing it” through the Endeavor Crew.
他在部门视频中说：“我绝对相信第二次机会。”“我直到这个程序才。”
对该计划感兴趣的前囚犯只能接受县缓刑和警长部门的积极转诊，并且必须已经在州或囚犯手工船员中服役。
SBCFPD表示，作为培训的一部分，机组人员学习了野外火灾行为，手动工具技术，电锯操作，CPR和急救以及小型发动机和设施维修。
Once certified, the crew will go to work on mitigating large fires with brush clearance and a chipping program, but will also participate in sandbagging, flood prevention projects, roadway clearance and other tasks.
After a fire, the Endeavor Crew will assist in fuel rehabilitation and environmental recovery efforts, the department said.
哈斯曼说，他一直尤其尊重急救人员和消防员。
他说：“我只是每天都在仰望他们，没有什么比最终以任何身份成为消防部门的一员，让我更加自豪。”
Daily Pressreporter Martin Estaciomay be reached at 760-955-5358 orMEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.
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