Every year at the Minnesota State Fair, the Governor’s Fire Prevention Day is marked with a competition.

Fire explorers, made up of youth ages 15 to 21, come from all over the state to compete in five different events. They are timed and scored on their performances.

This year, Zack Anderson and small group of Maple Grove Fire Explorers strapped on their fire gear at the state fair and were given a mission: search and rescue a mannequin inside a maze. 

“We’re in full gear and are faces are covered so we can’t see anything,” Anderson described. “Then we have to work as a team to find the mannequin and pull it to safety.”

The drill, meant to simulate a real rescue with obstacles and lack of vision, is just one of the competitive events that 23 teams participated in on Aug. 26.

“We really learn how to work together and what skills we need to improve,” Anderson said. The junior at Maple Grove Senior High School has taken part in this competition for the last year three years. “I think we learn a little more each year.”

The group’s adviser, Chris Baker says the team represented the city well.

“The competition at the fair is always very tough,” he said. “As far as the utilization of their training and skills, our kids did very well and were a big competitor.” 

The other events included:

• Bunker gear donning - a race to see how fast teams can put their gear and air tanks on.
• Cardiac arrest management - a scenario where a team comes across a car accident and must give CPR and use a defibrillator.
• Ladder raise
• Spinal immobilization
• Search and rescue

“In preparation for the competition and during the competition, explorers learn to work in a team environment,” Baker said. “They also learn how some other posts complete the objectives that are assigned, giving them ideas of how the same tasks can be completed in a different fashion.”

For Anderson, it’s a way to learn the skills he hopes to apply as fire fighter one day.

“I plan on joining the team after I go to college,” he said. “Firefighting runs in the family. My dad is the fire chief and so I do plan on carrying on the tradition.”

Overall, Maple Grove ended up in 10th place out of 23 Explorer Posts at the state fair. The Maple Grove Fire Explorers are accepting applications for new members, to find out more go to the Maple Grove Fire Explorers webpage.