Ridgerunners, a Montana inmate crew

The Missoulian has an article about an inmate crew working on the Bielenberg fire southwest of Deer Lodge, Montana. Here is an excerpt:

DEER LODGE – The Ridgerunners look just like any other hand crew in the black timber of the Bielenberg forest fire, except for the word inmate” on their helmets.

The first big fire of the 2009 season started last Sunday. These residents of the Montana State Prison were digging line on Day One, almost within sight of their cell walls. All 15 agreed the view is much better on this side.

Dan Resler was a firefighter for several years before a drunken-driving death sent him to prison.

“I was pretty happy to hear there was a fire crew when I got here,” Resler said. “This is one of the elite jobs in the prison, and something to shoot for. We’re about the only ones who get to leave the prison and get out in the community a little bit.”

Unlike California inmate firefighting squads in their bright-orange Nomex work suits, the Ridgerunner crew doesn’t have a special uniform. In fact, until you’re close enough to read the “Inmate Firefighter” insignia on their hardhats, there’s little to tell them from any other ground-pounder on the hillside of this 175-acre blaze.

Supervisor Tom Gillibrand also looks like any line boss, albeit one who used to play linebacker on a pro football squad. He’s a Department of Corrections employee at Montana State Prison, and head of a four-man security detail that watches the inmates.

Three of those guards are with the Ridgerunners in the woods. The fourth pulls a night shift at spike camp, making rounds to ensure everyone’s in their tent. Security is both low-tech and low visibility. The men’s own behavior is their biggest control factor.

Thanks Dick