The Associated Press

CHARLESTOWN, Ind. — State inmates soon could return to work as municipal firefighters, a state prison official said. The program that uses the inmates to fight fires for the Charlestown Volunteer Fire Department during daytime hours was suspended last week amid concerns voiced by opponents.

Detractors complained at a meeting that the inmates were not well supervised and had been allowed to go through residents’ homes while at fire scenes. Randy Koester, chief of staff for the Indiana Department of Correction, said the program has been suspended while allegations are being investigated.

However, he said the investigation so far has found no wrongdoing, and the program could resume soon. State inmates are used across Indiana to help municipalities with garbage collection, road cleaning and other tasks, Koester said. The DOC supported the idea of using them as firefighters because it can help them develop valuable skills they can use once they leave prison.

"We want to provide a good community service. At the same time, provide inmates with meaningful work," Koester said. But at a fire board meeting Thursday night, some residents complained about the program. "I really don’t feel comfortable calling 911 and having a criminal come to my home," resident Carla Shields told the board.

Maurice Jones one of two firefighters who've been fired after opposing the program, said he took photographs of inmates watching television, playing pool, using computers and loafing around the fire house. He said members of the fire department should have been allowed to vote on whether to allow inmates to fight fires. However, Fire Chief Lee Slaughter and the program’s coordinator, Mark Goodlett, said Jones' allegations were unfounded and that the program has fared well. Goodlett, a city councilman, said the program began about a year ago.

At first, inmates were used for tasks around the fire house such as cleaning fire trucks. "We decided to take it to the next level to see if we could use these guys to fight fires," Goodlett said. None of the firefighting inmates are sex offenders, violent criminals, or arsonists, Goodlett said.

He said that when the program was approved by the state, about 50 inmates were interested. The department had them take agility tests — something the regular firefighters don’t have to pass — and the top eight were selected. "They've been a tremendous help to us," Goodlett said.

He said they are constantly supervised and are strip-searched when they return to the firehouse from a run. Slaughter said he was skeptical of the program when it was proposed. "It's actually a lot better than what I thought," he said.

The inmates are used during the day, when manpower is in short supply because volunteers are at their day jobs, Slaughter said. "What I ended up with was one heck of a fire department," he said.