Prevention/Education Team Member

Introduction

This position serves as a team member assisting with developing and implementing a comprehensive fire prevention education program on a local, district, region, state or multi-state level to reduce human-caused wildfires. The program includes components of education, engineering and enforcement. Frequently, program precedent does not exist and the host agency administrator has few if any trained staff to develop and implement a comprehensive prevention education program including prevention activities and projects.

Duties

• Researches fire history data, current fire causes, cultural and census information to assist the team leader in developing a strategic communication plan with key messages.
• Delivers persuasive fire prevention education programs and messages at community activities and/or events to reach community groups such as homeowner associations, key community leaders, elected officials, fire departments and agency partners to address needed behavioral changes to reduce wildfires. Meets with home owners and forest users to provide fire education information.
• Identifies community activities/events that provide an opportunity reach communities with fire prevention education activities and messages.
• Participates in team teaching activities for fire prevention. May work with community partners to establish a demonstration site. Provides fire prevention information at community events. Works with the unit law enforcement or prevention officer to determine appropriate fire danger signs, ways to inform the public of required permits and methods to explain fire laws and fire restrictions.
• Responds to wildland fire conditions that are frequently extreme.
• Establishes agency and community communications and collaboration with the agency public affairs officers, agency prevention personnel, Incident Management teams, local fire departments, key community leaders and elected officials to plan.
• Collaborates with partners to identify fire causes, recognize the threat of the problem to the geographic area and target specific prevention education programs.
• Prepares and produces a variety of prevention education products including news releases, educational products including billboards, radio and television ads, posters, flyers, and door hangers targeting fire causes including debris burning, arson, campfires, mechanical equipment failure, and children.
• Works with billboard business owners and the National Ad Council for public service placement of Smoky Bear billboards.
• Works with the state highway department to display fire prevention messages on electronic signs.
• Maintains positive interpersonal relationships. Employs good listening skills with co-workers, agency personnel, and community players. Is responsive to requests and needs of others.
• Works with regional and local media to communicate fire causes, fire weather and fire fuel conditions in creative ways to get the fire prevention message before the public.
• Works with NOAA and weather radio and television weather forecasters to include fire danger in their daily weather reports.
• Prepares a daily report of team activities and team recommendations for needed follow-up with community organizations, elected officials and agency players. Implements procedures for information exchange and coordination with the Agency Administrator, National Interagency Fire Information Center (WO), regional fire prevention manager and area IMTs.
• Assists with the preparation of a final report of team activities and team recommendations for needed follow-up with community organizations, elected officials, and agency partners.

Position Knowledge and/or Requirements

• Successful completion of 32 hours of training including (a) P-310; (b) national team member course (pre-P-310); or (c) a regional team member course, pre-P-310.
• Independent judgment and decision making.
• Ability to adapt technical training to community applications.
• Superior oral and written communications skills.
• Superior leadership skills to lead team to achievement in a short period of time to lead social change in a community.
• Flexibility and diplomacy to deal with elected officials, interagency partners, homeowners, some of which may not want change and may withhold support.
• Satisfactory performance as a PETMT.

Supervisory Controls

• Reports to the team leader who sets the overall objectives and program direction.
• The incumbent exercises independent judgment and decision making by adapting technical training to community, homeowner and public land user applications. Assignments and resolution of most problems are completed independently.
• Completed work is reviewed only from an overall standpoint in terms of effectiveness in meeting expected results.

Guidelines

Guidelines, in the form of broad agency policy, practice and procedure, are available, but contain gaps in specificity. 
The incumbent uses judgment in determining appropriate actions to take by interpreting and adapting existing guidelines for application to specific cases or problems.

Complexity

The work includes varied duties that require many different and unrelated processes and methods.

Decisions as to what needs to be done depend upon the incumbent choosing a course of action from many alternatives after assessing unusual situations or circumstances.

The work requires making many decisions concerning such things as interpretation of considerable data, planning of the work, and/or refinement of the methods and techniques to be used.

Scope and Effect

Work products often affect the social, physical, and economic well-being of many people.

Personal Contacts

Contacts are with a wide variety of people outside the employing agency including news media and public action groups, frequently in unstructured settings.

Purpose of Contacts

The purpose of many of the external contacts is to influence and motivate the audiences. Often the contacts, e.g., some homeowners, may be skeptical and uncooperative.

Physical Demands

The work requires moderate physical exertion.

Work Environment

Moderate risks and discomfort.