By Charles McCarthy
The Fresno Bee
Copyright 2006 McClatchy Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

CHOWCHILLA, Calif. — The Madera County Grand Jury wants certain Chowchilla prison inmates equipped with hand-held Global Positioning System devices so they can find their way more easily around the county.

But these nine inmates aren't trying to escape custody; they're assigned to extinguish fires or provide medical assistance.

The GPS devices would help the nine Chowchilla prison inmate firefighters at Madera County Fire Station 5 and their professional supervisors find locations of fires, traffic crashes and other emergencies anywhere in the county.

"Because this [fire] service is available at no expense to the county, every effort should be made to enhance their capability whenever an opportunity presents itself," the grand jury report noted.

The recommendation came as a result of the grand jury's November visit to Station 5.

The report did not address whether county fire stations outside the prison should be similarly equipped.

Madera County Fire Department Division Chief Roscoe Rowney said the county does not supply GPS devices for its fire engines, although some individual firefighters supply their own.

Each of the four vehicles at Station 5, behind the fences at Central California Women's Facility, has in its crew cab a six-inch binder. Weighing at least 10 pounds, the binder includes every street found in Madera County, the Grand Jury said.

"This binder takes up considerable space in the crew cab, is awkward, heavy and cumbersome to work with and, if not held, onto can turn into guided missile while in route to an emergency," the grand jury reported.

Station 5 firefighters are trained for the same emergencies as the professionals and the paid-call volunteers outside the fences. The inmate firefighters are available around the clock at the fire station behind the fences at the state's Central California Women's Facility. They also serve the neighboring Valley State Prison for Women.

The Central California prison fire station has been in operation since 1990. In 1993, the prison fire department entered into a formal mutual-aid agreement with Madera County for responses outside the walls.

Services provided include fire suppression, rescue, hazardous materials response and decontamination, including mass decontamination after a terrorist event. The inmate firefighters are trained to extract traffic-accident victims with the Jaws of Life.

In 2005, the last year for which complete statistics were available, Madera County Station 5 responded to 887 emergencies. Some 30 percent of these were calls outside the prison fences, the grand jury report noted.

The report also included evaluations and recommendations for the Madera County Library system, the Clerk-Recorder's office, Central California Women's Facility food handling facilities and the county wastewater treatment plant.