Wildfire Prevention - State Fair

Purpose: To assist with the DNR Fire Prevention Building, fire tower, and wildfire suppression vehicles near the Fire Tower. Engage the public, answer general questions about fire prevention, suppression, and Firewise in Minnesota (talking points and program information will be provided before your shift), and direct people inside the building for wildfire prevention materials and giveaway items.

Authorized Duties:

Talk to the public about wildfire prevention as you:

• Engage with people about wildfire prevention. 
• Assist at wildland fire gear station, wildfire vehicles, or prevention building as assigned. Location will change throughout the shift depending on break needs and the number of staff present.

• Answer wildfire/Firewise related questions with the help of a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document or redirect to a DNR staff person.
• Hand out wildfire prevention/Firewise trinkets and information to fairgoers.

• Refer fairgoers with questions on other topics to the DNR Information Booth nearby. Most divisions in the DNR have representatives there to answer questions.

Restricted:

• Do not discuss issues unrelated to fire prevention, fire suppression, or Firewise – refer subjects outside of this purview to the DNR Info Booth.

Qualifications:

The Wildfire Prevention volunteer must be:

• 18 years of age or older
• Friendly and confident talking to people
• Physically capable of standing or sitting for long periods of time in/near the Prevention building
• Capable of answering fire-related questions, or finding answers on a printed FAQ sheet

Time commitment:

•  Two 3-hour shifts are available each day of the fair.
  • • Morning: 9 AM to 12 PM
    • Mid-day: 12 PM to 3 PM
    • Afternoon: 3 PM to 6 PM
• Volunteers must be present for their entire assigned shift.
  • A DNR Prevention staff will be available to assign the volunteer to a location, provide the FAQ sheet for reference, and provide short breaks (to find a meal, fill water bottles, use the restroom, etc.).

An admission ticket will be provided for each day you volunteer. Maps, tickets, and instructions will be mailed to you ahead of your shift date(s).

Please note: if friends/family accompany you to the Fair they MUST be signed up as DNR Volunteers and take the safety training in order to help you.

All volunteers must pass a background check.

State Fair Safety Training

• All volunteers must complete the annual online safety training, including quiz, to be eligible to work at the Minnesota State Fair.
• Please go to the DNR State Fair Safety Training page for instructions.

Sign up:

• Complete the online application.
• Once you have created an account in the system, you will see the available shifts and will be able to sign up for one. Shifts go all the way to Labor Day; you may need to click the “get more shifts” button to see them or you can use the “Filter” feature to filter by available shifts. Only 10 of the 48 shifts are shown below as an example.
  
• Please note that this application will time out after 30 minutes of no activity.
• You will receive more information and confirmation of your schedule later.
• Remember, you may sign up for more than 1 shift.
• There is a maximum of 4 volunteers per shift.

• For more information, contact Karen Harrison, Wildfire Prevention Specialist, at 651-259-5903 or email karen.harrison@state.mn.us .