The army of firefighters battling the massive Southern California wildfires includes workers who could otherwise remain safely behind bars.As of Friday, 939 prison inmates have been deployed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to help contain the blazes,

Nearly 400 inmates are among the 14,000 emergency responders working on the wildfires that have destroyed at least 2,000 buildings and killed at least six in the Los Angeles area. At present, inmates are believed to make up approximately 30 percent of the state’s firefighting force, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Critics say using incarcerated men and women to fight fires is cheap labour, but supporters say it is rehabilitative.