JEFFERSON — Without the inmates, the station could not run. Sometimes it is just full-time firefighter Laurence Deese and two inmates going out to a fire or any kind of emergency.
Inmates from Jackson County Correctional Facility Fire Department suit up in about 30 seconds and are ready to go put out fires.
Grady Newsource reporter Rebecca Scott shows you.
On paper, the Jefferson fire department pays all of their employees. Including those who are volunteer. They are hourly from the time they receive the emergency call.
For some cities like Plainview, everyone is a volunteer firefighter. If you go by the station, it will appear that no one is there. The inmates from the Jackson County Correctional Facility Fire Department still help out Plainview Fire Department are well, but the Plainview station does not have full time firefighters. This means there is usually not anyone at the station to answer business calls.
Volunteer firefighters can have a regular nine to five job and just be on call for emergencies. This sometimes makes having certain regular jobs difficult.
At this station in Jefferson, besides the inmates, the other firefighters that come in are only part time. And that includes the Fire Chief who is a full time deputy chief for Sandy Springs.
