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| Canon City SWIFT Responds to Wyoming Fire |
| By Colorado Department of Corrections |
| Published: 03/16/2016 |
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Canon City, CO: The Colorado Department of Corrections, State Wildland Inmate Fire Team (SWIFT) is now out on their third deployment this year. Activated to the Rourke II Fire located approximately 14 miles north of Gillette, WY. SWIFT was created as a response to Colorado’s Inmate Disaster Relief legislation enacted during the 1998 and 2001 legislative sessions. This legislation was written to “form a labor pool that could be safely utilized to fight forest fires, help with flood relief, and assist in the prevention of or clean up after natural or man-made disasters.” The Canon City based crew will be working alongside the Wyoming State Forestry Division, the Bureau of Land Management, Campbell County Road and Bridge Department and Weston County Fire Department, who have been fighting this fire since early Saturday morning. Offenders aren’t immediately chosen for this specialty unit. The offender must have a minimum custody classification score, have no violent crimes and must be within 3 years of their Parole Eligibility Date (PED). To become a member of SWIFT, offenders submit applications through their case manager. A team of case managers and SWIFT supervisors review each application. Possible recruits to the program undergo a physical requirement test, interview and must have a GED or high school diploma to be eligible. If chosen, offenders are moved to one of three facilities in Colorado where they participate in an 8 – 10 week training program and must pass physical and knowledge based tests. Upon passing, offenders receive their RED CARDS which enable them to work on a wild-land fire crew. All offenders hired by SWIFT are required to waive community corrections or parole through one fire season. Unlike most correctional firefighting crews which are tax supported, the SWIFT program is designed to be self-supporting. Colorado has one of the few self-sufficient programs in the country. In order to sustain the program, crews are available for fire mitigation, disaster clean up and general service work from facilities in the Canon City, Rifle and Buena Vista areas. |
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