Former inmates getting a second chance with the Buffalo Hand Crew
With eight feet of snow blocking her front door and burying her cars, Wendi Otto relied on the help of the Buffalo Hand Crew to rescue her from the nightmarish twist on a winter wonderland.
"It was stressful," said Otto. "To have this help, it's just a blessing."
The Buffalo Hand Crew operates on an unconventional model compared to other fire services. Each of the professional firefighters on the staff has a criminal past.
"Pretty much 10 years behind bars," said crew captain Jonala Vann.
"I did three years and ten months," said Superintendent Daton Harris Jr.
Harris said poor choices landed him in prison. But when he got behind those cold steel bars, he decided to become an inmate firefighter because the grueling job offered time off his sentence. After a while, he grew a passion for it. When he was released, he wanted to transition what he learned as an inmate into a career at a fire department.
But with his record, it wasn't going to be easy.
"I went to every station and they laughed at me," said Harris. "They told me I was never going to be a fireman."
Vann had a similar story to Harris, admitting that she was disappointed about the choices she made as a younger woman. She eventually joined a fire camp, changing her outlook and giving her a passion to chase.
"Having people thank you for saving their homes, regardless of the color of the uniform I was in, regardless that I was an inmate" said Vann. "It meant something to me. It sparked a passion within."
Both agreed that the fire service gave them a new purpose in life. Harris and Vann connected with the Forestry and Fire Recruitment program, a nonprofit that helps former inmates find careers in firefighting. The pair now have leadership roles in the San Bernardino-based Buffalo Hand Crew.
In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2147, which allows former inmates who served in prison fire camps to petition to get their records expunged. Harris' sentence is now off his record and Vann just started the process. The two say they already have their dream jobs but to have a clean slate means they can do even more.
"Upon me getting my record expunged, now I'm able to get my EMT and probably take it even further and get my paramedic," said Harris.
"I can't erase the past," said Vann. "I can't take it back. I can't change what I did. But I can move forward and be a better person, better mother, better servant."