Los Angeles, Jan 13 (IANS): Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has called for incarcerated firefighters to be paid more as those helping fight the Los Angeles wildfires receive just $1 an hour.
Kim wrote on her Instagram Story: “I have spent the last week watching my city burning. And have seen and spoken to many firefighter who are up all night long using every ounce of their strength to save our community.
“Thank you to @calfire la County Fire and Los Angeles City Fire for everything you are doing to save lives, homes property. On all 5 fires in Los Angeles, there are hundreds of incarcerated firefighters, risking their lives to save us.
"They are on the Palisades fire and Eaton fire and Pasadena fire working 24 hour shifts. They get paid almost nothing, risk their lives, some have died, to prove to the community that they have changed and are now first responders. I see them as heroes.”
“The incarcerated firefighters have been paid $1/hour to risk their lives and this pay has been the same since 1984. It has never been raised with inflation. It’s never been raised when fires got worse and many (firefighters) died. This year there was an agreement to raise the incarcerated firefighter pay to $5/hour, but it got shot down last minute.”
The 'Kardashians' star urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to intervene and increase the rate of pay for incarcerated firefighters, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
She added: “I am urging @cagovernor to do what no Governor has done in 4 decades, and raise the incarcerated firefighters pay to a rate that honors a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes."
Kim also thanked “firefighters from the @calfire Ventura Training Center for saving my community when it started burning this week.”
She added: “These are all FORMERLY incarcerated firefighters who have come home, and want to continue serving our communities as firefighters.
“Due to bills passed by @antirecidivismcoalition, these guys can now get their sentences reduced, expunging the felonies from their records for their fire service. And when they come home can get six figure jobs working for the fire departments.”
It is believed at least 900 inmates are helping fight the fires - which have so far burned through at least 37,000 acres and destroyed over 12,000 structures - with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in California explaining to the New York Times newspaper they are “working to cut fire lines and remove fuel to slow fire spread".