Travis Barker Salutes Incarcerated Firefighters Battling L.A. Wildfires

Travis Barker says he’s been blown away by the inmates battling the Los Angeles wildfires … telling us it’s proof people who’ve made bad decisions can still do good things.

The Blink-182 drummer joined us on “TMZ Live” Thursday and we asked him about this week’s visit with a group of prisoners working 24-hour shifts as firefighters.

Travis was super inspired when he heard about the nonviolent security inmates battling the blazes for a dollar an hour … and he wants to use his platform to give them the appreciation they deserve.

TB says a lot of these inmates got in trouble when they were young, and the fires are giving them an avenue to do something positive with their lives … instead of rotting away in a cell.

Kim Kardashian, Travis’ sister-in-law, has also been advocating for these inmate firefighters … trying to raise their measly wages … and Travis says he hopes some of these guys can become real firefighters one day. He says they’re heroes along with all the other first responders.