The first two seasons of Fire Country showcase convicted felon Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) working in the Three Rock Conservation Camp, a correctional facility for convicted felons working as firefighters in the fictional town of Edgewater, California. The Season 2 finale finds Bode Leone earning his freedom and being released from prison due to his work as a prisoner firefighter. The season ends with Bode determined to forge a new career as a firefighter. However, there are real-life restrictions and bans in the state of California that would hinder Bode’s goal. California laws attempted to walk back these restrictions, but in the real world, Bode would find it extremely difficult to pursue firefighting. At the very least, he would be stuck in court while pleading his case for an incredibly long time. It’s time to explore the laws that could likely prevent Bode Leone from pursuing his dreams.
California Frequently Uses Inmate Firefighters in Real-Life
The state of California’s utilization of inmates as volunteer firefighters is the most legitimate thing about Fire Country’s premise. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation offers firefighting as one of its several vocational training programs for prisoners. Low-level prisoners can apply to work alongside professional firefighters at a salary of one dollar per hour. Under California’s Conversation Fire Camp Program, the CDCR works with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to respond to emergencies such as fires, floods, and other natural disasters. Hand crews also respond to rescue efforts in local parks or flood suppression. Currently, the CDCR, CAL FIRE, and the Los Angeles County Fire Department jointly operate 35 conservation camps in 25 counties across the state. Therefore, Bode’s situation allowing him to work as an inmate firefighter is based on fact, not fiction.
California’s Strict Laws Make It Difficult for Convicted Felons to Become Firefighters
Here is the big problem Bode would face in the real world as he strives to become a firefighter in California. California has strict licensing laws and regulations. Bode must apply for an Emergency Medical Services license to become a firefighter. Official California law, straight from the state’s official legislative website, includes a list of actions that could lead to a rejection for Bode. Item No. 6 in this list reads, “Conviction of any crime that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, and duties of prehospital personnel. The record of conviction or a certified copy of the record shall be conclusive evidence of the conviction.”
Bode was convicted of armed robbery, meaning the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) probably would not license Bode, and he would be out of luck. Not to mention Bode has a criminal history that extends back to his teens. Even though Bode seeks to change his life through firefighting, it’s doubtful that he would receive the EMT license required to become a firefighter in California. However, the state, in recent years, has attempted to make a clearer path for inmate firefighters who take part in fire camps.
California Tried To Change Its Laws Regarding Former Inmate Fire Crew Members in 2021
In September 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2147 into law. The purpose of the law was to clear the path for non-violent incarcerated individuals who participated in the aforementioned fire conservation camps for the CDCR to have their records expunged. If they trained as firefighters in prison, they would receive a fair and clear path to apply for EMT licenses. The law went into effect starting January 1, 2021. However, the new law raised its own set of problems.
Despite Governor Newsom signing the bill, which was ratified into law several years ago, the older state regulations were upheld by a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in June 2022. As reported by The San Francisco Chronicle, two former prisoners who fit the categories laid out by AB 2147 were unable to get their convictions expunged. The three-judge panel ruled, “Felonies, especially recent ones, reasonably call into question a person’s moral character. There are no more potentially vulnerable patients than those who are involved in the medical emergencies to which EMTs respond.” The court ruling sets a legal precedent, essentially rendering AB 2147 useless.
Bode Leone’s Case Would Likely Endure Years of Legal Hell
Considering Bode’s criminal record, the court ruling upholding the older state regulations suggests there would be a significant difficulty for the former convict to be approved for an EMT license. While California signed a bill into law empowering Bode to have his criminal record erased in the pursuit of obtaining that license, the federal appellate court would likely deny his request to have his criminal record expunged. To put it bluntly, Bode’s dream would be tangled up in legal purgatory for years.
Now, Bode’s case is not completely impossible. Under AB 2147, Bode would be eligible to petition the court to expunge his criminal record. If Bode Leone has a good lawyer and a federal court is willing to take his case and grant his petition, it’s possible Bode could get his record erased to clear a path to receive a license. It would simply be a long, slow, painful, and arduous process that a television series built on fast-paced, high-stakes drama, such as Fire Country, would not have time to depict. In reality, it would take Bode years to get this problem legally resolved.
Bode Leone Will Pursue His Dream in Season 3
The good news for Bode is that the fictional, magical world of television seems to have solved this problem, and he will pursue a career in firefighting next season. Promotional artwork for Season 3 shows Bode Leone in genuine CAL FIRE gear, so it looks like his uncle, Luke Leone (Michael Trucco), managed to pull some strings. Thankfully, as a fictional television series, Fire Country is not beholden to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals or California’s EMSA, so the show’s writers can find fictional means or legal loopholes to solve Bode’s problems. And voilà, firefighter Bode Leone will appears in Fire Country Season 3.
Fire Country Season 3 returns on October 18. The first two seasons of Fire Country are streaming now on Paramount+ in the U.S.