Female inmate firefighters build character but often can’t use fire skills after release PHOENIX – May Tiwamangkala remembers mornings at Perryville Prison west of Phoenix, when the Wildland Fire Crew members began chanting and stomping their feet on concrete to let the rest of the prison know it was 5 a.m. On their training runs, she recalls, one veteran on the all-women crew would shout, “Who are we?” “Fire crew!” “Or be forgotten!” The Perryville crew is one of 12 17-person crews of incarcerated firefighters in Arizona, and the only crew of all women. But once crew members leave prison, they often face difficulty getting hired as firefighters, typically because they lack documentation of their work or can’t get the required certification as emergency medical technicians because of their criminal records.
PHOENIX â May Tiwamangkala remembers mornings at Perryville Prison west of Phoenix, when the Wildland Fire Crew members began chanting and stomping their feet on concrete to let the rest of the prison know it was 5 a.m.
On their training runs, she recalls, one veteran on the all-women crew would shout, âWho are we?â
âFire crew!â
âOr be forgotten!â
The Perryville crew is one of 12 17-person crews of incarcerated firefighters in Arizona, and the only crew of all women. But once crew members leave prison, they often face difficulty getting hired as firefighters, typically because they lack documentation of their work or canât get the required certification as emergency medical technicians because of their criminal records.
By Catie Cheshire, Sinead Hickey and Miles Green/Special for Cronkite News
Jan. 12, 2021
Ginger Davidson, along with the other women on the Perryville crew, received certification on the proper use of chain saws during wildfires or any other assignments. (Photo by Sinead Hickey/Special for Cronkite News)
Prison fire crews receive the same training as any private or public crew. During the training by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, inmates receive such materials as this handbook for certification as a sawyer. (Photo by Sinead Hickey/Special for Cronkite News)
PHOENIX – May Tiwamangkala remembers mornings at Perryville Prison west of Phoenix, when the Wildland Fire Crew members began chanting and stomping their feet on concrete to let the rest of the prison know it was 5 a.m.
Female inmate firefighters build character but often canât use fire skills after release Ginger Davidson, along with the other women on the Perryville crew, received certification on the proper use of chain saws during wildfires or any other assignments. (Source: Sinead Hickey/Special for Cronkite News) By Catie Cheshire, Sinead Hickey and Miles Green | January 13, 2021 at 6:51 AM MST - Updated January 13 at 7:14 AM
PHOENIX â May Tiwamangkala remembers mornings at Perryville Prison west of Phoenix, when the Wildland Fire Crew members began chanting and stomping their feet on concrete to let the rest of the prison know it was 5 a.m.