After decades of economic restructuring, many rural communities are struggling to provide adequate fire and emergency services across their communities. Subsequent population loss, the destabilization of local tax-bases, and an increased demand from work and family have left local fire departments at a loss for personnel and support. In this context, rural Georgia communities look to nearby prisons to provide incarcerated persons to work as local firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to stabilize rural emergency services. In this paper, I examine the narrative accounts that officials who employ, manage, or work alongside incarcerated workers who are trained to respond locally as firefighters and EMTs and ask why incarcerated workers are looked to for this type of work in spite of the challenges associated with the program. Officials describe turning to the state prison system as the only viable option to make their communities and fire departments safe. These findings further illuminate the relationship between racial capitalism, carceral infrastructure, and emergency services as rural communities turn to the false promise of prisons and all-hazard incarcerated firefighters to keep their communities safe.

中文翻译：

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“志愿服务的日子已经一去不复返了”：全险入狱消防员与农村撤资☆

经过几十年的经济重组，许多农村社区正在努力为整个社区提供足够的消防和紧急服务。随后的人口流失、地方税基的不稳定以及工作和家庭需求的增加，导致当地消防部门缺乏人员和支持。在这种背景下，佐治亚州农村社区希望附近的监狱能够为被监禁者提供当地消防员和紧急医疗技术人员 (EMT) 的工作，以稳定农村紧急服务。在本文中，我研究了雇用、管理被监禁工人或与被监禁工人一起工作的官员的叙述，这些工人接受过当地消防员和急救人员培训，并询问为什么尽管面临相关挑战，仍让被监禁工人从事此类工作与程序。官员们表示，求助于州监狱系统是确保社区和消防部门安全的唯一可行选择。这些发现进一步阐明了种族资本主义、监狱基础设施和紧急服务之间的关系，因为农村社区转向监狱和所有危险的被监禁消防员的虚假承诺来保证社区安全。