'Burning Issues': Incarcerated Firefighting Programs in the U.S.
There are at least 15 states in the U.S. that use incarcerated people to fight wildland fires: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. This thesis outlines the broad adoption and a...
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| Format: | Thesis |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2023
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147599 |
| _version_ | 1826214989663305728 |
|---|---|
| author | Foehringer Merchant, Emma |
| author2 | Mnookin, Seth |
| author_facet | Mnookin, Seth Foehringer Merchant, Emma |
| author_sort | Foehringer Merchant, Emma |
| collection | MIT |
| description | There are at least 15 states in the U.S. that use incarcerated people to fight wildland fires: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. This thesis outlines the broad adoption and ad-hoc nature of these programs, as well as the wide variation in data available about their operation. Though incarcerated men and women have been fighting fires in the U.S. for decades, many of these programs have received very little public scrutiny.
The impacts of climate change, such as drought and warmer temperatures, have increased the likelihood of wildfires and the portion of the year when those fires are likely to spark. As climate change intensifies and the costs of disasters increase -- in 1990, the U.S. spent $390 million fighting wildfires and in 2021, the nation spent $2.3 billion -- the U.S. will have a growing need for firefighting labor. Meanwhile, the federal government is struggling to hire enough firefighters to meet the demand. Though numerous variables contribute to the creation, maintenance, and size of incarcerated firefighting programs, increasing and more dangerous fire activity could push states to consider using this labor more often. That makes it essential to understand the scope of these programs as well as their ultimate effect on participants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:15:04Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/147599 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:15:04Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1475992023-01-21T03:03:09Z 'Burning Issues': Incarcerated Firefighting Programs in the U.S. Foehringer Merchant, Emma Mnookin, Seth Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing There are at least 15 states in the U.S. that use incarcerated people to fight wildland fires: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. This thesis outlines the broad adoption and ad-hoc nature of these programs, as well as the wide variation in data available about their operation. Though incarcerated men and women have been fighting fires in the U.S. for decades, many of these programs have received very little public scrutiny. The impacts of climate change, such as drought and warmer temperatures, have increased the likelihood of wildfires and the portion of the year when those fires are likely to spark. As climate change intensifies and the costs of disasters increase -- in 1990, the U.S. spent $390 million fighting wildfires and in 2021, the nation spent $2.3 billion -- the U.S. will have a growing need for firefighting labor. Meanwhile, the federal government is struggling to hire enough firefighters to meet the demand. Though numerous variables contribute to the creation, maintenance, and size of incarcerated firefighting programs, increasing and more dangerous fire activity could push states to consider using this labor more often. That makes it essential to understand the scope of these programs as well as their ultimate effect on participants. S.M. 2023-01-20T15:31:06Z 2023-01-20T15:31:06Z 2022-09 2022-08-29T15:17:51.003Z Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147599 In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright retained by author(s) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Foehringer Merchant, Emma 'Burning Issues': Incarcerated Firefighting Programs in the U.S. |
| title | 'Burning Issues': Incarcerated Firefighting Programs in the U.S. |
| title_full | 'Burning Issues': Incarcerated Firefighting Programs in the U.S. |
| title_fullStr | 'Burning Issues': Incarcerated Firefighting Programs in the U.S. |
| title_full_unstemmed | 'Burning Issues': Incarcerated Firefighting Programs in the U.S. |
| title_short | 'Burning Issues': Incarcerated Firefighting Programs in the U.S. |
| title_sort | burning issues incarcerated firefighting programs in the u s |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147599 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT foehringermerchantemma burningissuesincarceratedfirefightingprogramsintheus |