Inmate Fire Crew Assists In Response to Fire

Immediate Release

Inmate Fire Crew Assists In Response to Fire

Walker State Prison Fire Team Responds

FORSYTH, Ga. – The Walker State Prison Inmate Fire Crew aided in the response of a fire that broke out around 12:10am on January 6, 2016 at the Golden Corral off of Battlefield Parkway in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.

Inmate firefighters from Walker State Prison along with firefighters from the Catoosa County Fire & Rescue, Fort Oglethorpe Fire Department, and Walker County Fire Department worked together to battle the blaze, which was extinguished by 5am.

The Walker State Prison Fire Station is one of 19 stations at the Georgia Department of Corrections, which is operated by certified Fire Chiefs and inmate firefighters. Fire Station No. 9 was opened in December 1992 and responds to 140 calls per year in Catoosa and Walker counties as well as the cities of LaFayette, Rossville, and Fort Oglethorpe. Inmates, who go through the firefighter program, can be hired and certified as career firefighters once they are released.