From juvenile hall to firefighting academy; 2 nonprofits help redirect paths with fire training

As recent events have demonstrated, there is a great need for more people to fight wildfires in the state, and now two nonprofits have joined to address the shortage and provide jobs to underserved communities.

When Eddie Herrera is not fighting fires for Cal Fire, he's training the next generation at the Future Fire Academy.  Herrera spent nearly two decades in prison, and while incarcerated, he became an institutional municipal firefighter.

When he was released from prison, he started working for the state, and now he's giving back.

"We're allowing individuals to overcome a lot of the trauma they've experienced in their lives, redirecting it in a positive way," Herrera said.

"What better way than being in a life of service and that's what they are doing now."

Anthony Pedro spent nine years in prison and turned his life around by becoming a firefighter and starting the Future Fire Academy.

"There's this narrative on folks that come from our background. The thing is, we are changing it," Pedro said.

He devotes his time to helping others like him find a pathway into the fire service.

"Maybe folks that normally wouldn't have access, we have grant funding to provide it to them for free. We pay them while they are here training," Pedro said.  "Everyone will leave her with a few thousand dollars to go home once they graduate."

The Future Academy has teamed up with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, which has its own training center. With the two nonprofits joining forces, fewer people are getting turned away, as recruiting continues in schools, jails and juvenile halls.

"We started hitting every institution. We would plant the seed. Hundreds of people have been directly impacted by those recruitment trips," Jon Cesario/ARC, firefighter recruitment specialist, said.

Jason Rojas was recruited from juvenile hall, and the 21-year-old just completed the Future Fire Academy, along with 18 others. This isn't the end of the road for them; they will also get the help they need to apply for a job.

"It's a new direction I'm heading in life. I want to be successful and make a change, not just for myself but for my family and those around me," Rojas said.