Air Date: Week of November 28, 2025

Our guest, Eddie Herrera Jr. at the Green Fire in San Luis Obispo County in 2024. Herrera worked his way up from being an incarcerated firefighter to being a fire apparatus engineer for the state of California. (Photo: Courtesy of Eddie Herrera Jr.)

Around a third of the firefighters who battle wildfires in California are incarcerated, and until recently they were paid just $5 to $10 a day. Under a state law enacted in October 2025, incarcerated firefighters are now paid at least $7.25 per hour while actively fighting fires. Formerly incarcerated firefighter and current fire apparatus engineer for the state of California, Eddie Herrera, Jr., returns to Living on Earth to speak with Host Aynsley O’Neill about how this pay raise can help transform lives.

Transcript

DOERING: It’s Living on Earth, I’m Jenni Doering.

O’NEILL: And I’m Aynsley O’Neill.

When wildfires like the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires rage across California, around 30% of the firefighters battling the blazes are incarcerated. This California penitentiary program trains inmates in the same skillset as professional firefighters and puts them on track to be hired upon release. Until recently, these incarcerated firefighters were paid an extremely low wage - typically between $5 and $10 a day. Now, that pay gap is starting to close. In October 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring incarcerated firefighters to be paid $7.25 per hour while actively fighting fires. Here to talk to us about the impact of this law is formerly incarcerated firefighter and current fire apparatus engineer for the state of California, Eddie Herrera, Jr. Hi Eddie, and welcome back to the show!

HERRERA: Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you guys having me here again. It's awesome to be back and under a different title now, but it's awesome. Thank you for having me.

O'NEILL: Congratulations on the promotion, yes. You've shared your story on the show before, but for those who might not remember, please tell us a little bit about your experience during your time as an incarcerated firefighter.

HERRERA: Yeah, so I served 18 years in the State of California, and then those last two years, I operated as a institutional municipal firefighter at an institution firehouse for the state of California. And so I fought wildland fires, vegetation fires, ran medical calls, structure fires, but yeah, that was my, my job. I was an incarcerated institutional firefighter.

O'NEILL: During that time, how much were you paid for your service?

HERRERA: So I made $56 a month. That was the max I could get paid for that position, being at the firehouse, which came out to a roughly $1.80 an hour. And you get deductions for restitution and different stuff like that. It came out to like $41 a month.

O'NEILL: And for those who might not be aware, what is restitution?

HERRERA: So restitution is what the courts apply to your case. In regards to restitution for whether it could be for victim, where it could be for court fees, it could be anything that has to do with the legal system. So if you have a lot of restitution, it can add up into the thousands, but fortunately for me, in my case, it was not that much. It was $200, so I paid that off. So yeah, it's just a court-imposed fee in regards to whether it's restitution for your victim's property or court fees.

O'NEILL: So in terms of the pay, what would be the difference between an incarcerated firefighter and a non-incarcerated firefighter?

HERRERA: In comparison, it's a lot of a difference. So average, your Fire Fighter 1 for the state of California can make up to $62,000, and that would be your base pay. Definitely can increase if you are working overtime and you're out there fighting active fires. So if you do the numbers, I mean, let's just say $21 an hour, there's a big difference in regards to $1.80 an hour, or $1 an hour fighting active fires, as opposed to making that amount. So in comparison, it is a huge gap.

O'NEILL: So as of October 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom has now signed a bill that requires incarcerated firefighters in the state of California to be paid $7.25 an hour while assigned to an active fire. On a practical level, how will this change the lives of incarcerated firefighters?

HERRERA: Wow, great question. On a practical level, it is big, and let me explain to you how what I mean. Not only is it good as far as public safety and the reason why it goes back to restitution. This is part of being able to give back for whatever crime you committed, whatever offense, you're able to now the state and the victims are able to get back, right, restitution, because the more you make, the more it goes towards your victims. As well as, public safety wise is, the more money you make, the more you're able to transition when you do come home, because you're able to start having money to get set up, build a foundation. As opposed to before, it was very challenging, because you get out, you get your gate money, your $200 upon release, and then you're going to be rely heavily on the state services or family members, right? So in this case, it's very different in the sense that you can realistically be paroling with up to $20,000 in a good fire season, right? So if you manage your money wisely, have that money saved up, you can have money to get yourself food, clothing, whatever it is you need to do to transition back into society. So if you think about it in the sense of public safety, it's less of a burden on the state and society itself to be able to have to say, hey, we're just going to have a revolving door in recidivism, right?

O’NEILL: Mm hm.

HERERRA: So it's huge, in that sense. So now with this pay, it's going to allow them to, one, pay restitution, two establish a foundation upon coming home, and three, actually start helping out family members and loved ones while they're in there. Because most individuals, when they're in there, it's a huge burden on family and loved ones, because they're the ones that are supporting their loved ones that are still incarcerated. So now, in this case, it kind of flips that, right? They no longer have to ask for help. Instead, they're the ones being able to say, "Hey, I want to take care of my daughter, take care of my son, take care of my mom." And they can actually start sending money home, if they like. So yes, it's huge.

O'NEILL: And what have you been hearing from currently incarcerated firefighters about this bill? You know, how have they been reacting?

HERRERA: So it is huge. And the feedback is, it's life changing because now they're able to do the stuff that they've been wanting to do, which is pay restitution, so they don't have to worry about upon release, that hindering from being off of parole, which is very huge, because that's another obstacle you have to overcome when you're trying to get a job. So it opens up a lot more avenues as far as employment. So that's huge. And so majority of them, I would say, are very, very excited to see that first check and see what it looks like. But more importantly, I can't emphasize this enough, the word that is being used a lot is to be seen. You know, to be seen. It demonstrates that you are no longer defined by your mistake that you made. You can take accountability, responsibility for it, and demonstrate to society, to the public and your victims, that the way you make amends is by giving back and being of service, right? So it's not throwing the key away and just say, "Hey, we're done with you." Well, no, 90% of the population that's incarcerated right now will be coming home, so this is part of that rehabilitation.

O'NEILL: Well, so, this is obviously a massive change in the amount of money that these incarcerated firefighters are going to be paid. What kind of system do you think needs to be in place in order to help these firefighters take full advantage of this wage increase?

HERRERA: So what we are currently working on right now is presenting and offering financial literacy and money management classes. So now at all fire camps, this will be a curriculum that can be presented to them. So then, therefore individuals that will be making this money can now actually make educated, informed decisions of what to do with this money that they will now be receiving. And I think that that that is important because I believe the public would want to know also what's going to happen with that money. And I feel like as a taxpayer, I would feel better knowing that individuals that are going to be making more money while they're incarcerated are not going to foolishly spend that money. I believe that we, all in this world, can use, you know, some financial literacy and money management, right? So why not an individual that's still going to be able to have an opportunity to save a lot of money?

O'NEILL: From what I understand, the general public's response to the Palisades and Eaton fires earlier this year sort of helped push this bill along. Talk to me about that.

HERRERA: Yeah. So it definitely did because a lot of individuals that were affected by it were individuals of power, and they got to see firsthand incarcerated firefighters fighting fires alongside career firefighters. So to visually see that was very impactful for them because now they're able to put a face and put an image to what they did not know about before, which was incarcerated firefighters and what they do. And so, as you know, when you're in need of help, you don't question, you know, who's the one that's helping you. You just need help, right? So this was huge in the sense that it affected Los Angeles County. And Los Angeles County showed up. The people spoke and demonstrate that they were willing to pay, as far as wages go, for individuals that were actually there saving their homes and lives.

O'NEILL: Eddie Herrera Jr. is a fire apparatus engineer for the state of California. Eddie, thank you so much for taking the time with me today.

HERRERA: Thank you for having me. I appreciate you and looking forward for greater things to happen for us.

 

Links

Our guest, Eddie Herrera Jr., regularly works with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition. Learn more about them here

Listen to our original story about Eddie Herrera Jr. and incarcerated firefighters