I'm not sure if this is contrasting in any way. Just sort of a, prison culture is so messed up that it's better and safer to be fighting fires. The quote argui

I'm not sure if this is contrasting in any way. Just sort of a, prison culture is so messed up that it's better and safer to be fighting fires. The quote arguing that they rely on $2/day firefighters from prisons and can't release them when ordered is somewhat telling.