Stoney Creek RFB

Stoney Creek

Volunteer Rural Fire Brigade

Permits, regulations and you

There are two reasons you need a permit before lighting a fire on your property -- to identify environmental concerns and to identify additional safety requirements arising from increased danger periods. In the areas covered by Queanbeyan City Council and the Palarang Shire, the RFS is the issuing authority for the necessary permits.

Hazard Reduction and Environmental Approvals -- Hazard reduction work requires environmental approvals. The RFS can assist private property owners in bushfire prone areas with this by organising a Bush Fire Hazard Reduction Certificate (the environmental approval for this work) for free in just a few days.
Fire Permits for the Bush Fire Danger Period -- Permits are required for fires lit during the Bush Fire Danger Period that are in the open or are likely to be dangerous to any building. Failure to gain a fire permit is an offence.
Total Fire Ban days -- Extra regulations apply during total fire-ban days. You should not light any fires or operate machinery (eg mowers, angle grinders, welders) that might cause a spark and start a fire.
Did you know..? -- There are various regulations for special circumstances, like using machinery, fires near crops, barbequing and burning off.

1. Hazard Reduction and Environmental Approvals

A range of environmental laws exists to regulate hazard reduction. These cover the effects that clearing or burning can have on threatened species, soil, water, native and riverside vegetation, Aboriginal and European heritage and locally significant sites. Standards also relate to the effects of smoke pollution. The Bush Fire Environmental Assessment Code was introduced to meet the requirements of up to 22 different pieces of legislation with a single application.

If you are planning to do a hazard reduction, you will need a Bush Fire Hazard Reduction Certificate. (This certificate is necessary for most forms of hazard reduction, including burning and slashing, but not for agricultural activities like grazing.) The certificate gives approval to undertake hazard reduction and is valid for 12 months. It may contain conditions such as retaining certain trees, warning neighbours of smoke or treating machinery to prevent weeds spreading.

You can download a Bush Fire Hazard Reduction Certificate application form and guidelines from the RFS website. The application should be processed within seven days, unless further information or negotiation is required.

Local residents can also contact the local Fire Mitigation Officer at the Fire Control Centre in Queanbeyan, on 6297 1840, to make an appointment. The FMO can give you some valuable advice on the work you plan to do.

RFS guidelines are available to assist with conducting hazard reduction activities:

Before You Light That Fire (how to get approval to burn)
Guideline to Pile Burning (how to safely conduct a pile burn)
Guidelines for Low Intensity Hazard Reduction Burning (how to safely conduct a burn).
Guideline to Creating and Maintaining an Asset Protection Zone (what level of vegetation clearance and landscaping is required)

Agricultural activities are not affected by the Code. Farmers conducting normal agricultural activities are not affected by the Code requirements. They can continue burning stubble and diseased crops, pruning orchards and grazing without approval under the Code. Farmers may require approvals under the Code if they are undertaking hazard reduction work.

Separate Fire Permits may still needed to light a fire if burning is the chosen method of hazard reduction. Permits are only needed during the Bush Fire Danger Period which normally runs from October to March* or if the burning is likely to endanger a building.

*Please note: In recent years, the fire season has been both brought forward and extended in this area.

For more information on the Bush Fire Environmental Assessment Code, see the FAQ prepared by the RFS.

2. Fire Permits for the Bush Fire Danger Period

Fire Permits are required for fires lit during the Bush Fire Danger Period that are in the open* or are likely to be dangerous to any building. Failure to gain a fire permit is an offence.

* The exception to this is fire used for cooking, heating or like purpose but there are restrictions also on these fires. A cooking fire such as a BBQ must be lit in either a permanently constructed fire place with no combustible material within 2 metres, or at a site with no combustible material within 3 metres. Additional restrictions apply during a Total Fire Ban.

A Fire Permit is a legal document that allows you to light a fire for a particular purpose and sets out certain conditions, including availability of water, supervision of the fire and notifying neighbours.

The Permit is valid for up to 21 days, but is automatically cancelled when a Total Fire Ban is declared. It may also be cancelled when specific weather and fuel conditions render the fire danger index as 'high to extreme'. Any cancellation or suspension of permits will be notified either in writing or verbally but may be broadcast on radio and/or television. Check with your local fire authority if in doubt.

You must also notify the local Fire Control Centre before you start so the local brigade does not get called out.

In the Lake George Rural Fire District, local Captains and Senior Deputy Captains are responsible for issuing fire permits.

Lighting fires without authority

A person who,

without lawful authority, sets fire to the land or property of another person, the Crown or any public authority,

being the owner or occupier of any land, permits a fire to escape from that land under such circumstances as to cause damage to a person or property of another person or the land or property of the Crown or a public authority

is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty $110,000 or imprisonment for 14 years, or both.

3. Total Fire Ban days

What does a Total Fire Ban mean?
-- During a total fire ban,
- NO FIRE MAY BE LIT IN THE OPEN. This includes incinerators and barbecues that burn solid fuel, e.g. wood or charcoal. You may use a gas or electric barbecue, but only if...
  - it is on a residential property within 20m of the house or dwelling or in an area with council approval;
  - it is under the direct control of an adult;
  - the ground within 3m of the barbecue is cleared of all materials which could burn; AND
  - you have a continuous supply of water available.
- You may not use a slasher and other equipment that could cause a spark.
- Fire Permits that have been issued are automatically cancelled
When is a Total Fire Ban declared? -- On days of extreme fire danger caused by a combination of certain weather conditions and dry vegetation
How will you know when a Total Fire Ban is on? -- Through newspapers, radio and TV. If in doubt, contact the local Council, or the Fire Control Office. (Please note that the Stoney Creek Fire Shed is not staffed and the phone only answered during Brigade activites.)
How long does a Total Fire Ban last? -- Usually for 24 hours, from 12 midnight.

4. Did you know..?

Landowners and managers are responsible for reducing the risk of bushfire on their property.
Burning off in the open:
- Notify your neighbours at least 24 hours before you light the fire.
- Make sure someone is there all the time the fire is alight.
- During the Bush Fire Danger Period, you need a permit from your local council to burn off and must observe all conditions of the permit
- If it is for hazard reduction, you will also need to get a Bush Fire Hazard Reduction Certificate from the Fire Mitigation Officer at the Fire Control Centre
Barbecues and camp fires:
- Only light fires in a permanently constructed fireplace surrounded by ground that is clear of all combustible matter for a distance of at least 2 metres OR
- at a site surrounded by ground that is clear of all combustible matter for a distance of at least 3 metres AND
- make sure the fire is completely out before leaving the area
Motorised and steam powered machines used for agricultural, pastoral or other land use, have specific fire safety requirements. This includes carrying sufficient water to dowse any sparks.
A person must not, without lawful authority, light any tobacco product, match or other material, or use or carry any lighted tobacco product, match or other material within 15 metres of any stacks of grain, hay, corn or straw or any standing crops, dry grass or stubble field.
A person must not, without lawful authority, leave or deposit a lighted tobacco product, match or any incandescent material on any land, or any bridge, wharf, pontoon or similar structure.
Burning at garbage depots, lighting fires to produce charcoal and burning to destroy sawmill waste have strict rules and disregarding them is an offence. Burning to demolish buildings and the like also requires a permit.
All of these guidelines and requirements can be found in the Rural Fires Regulation 1997 and in other fact sheets on the RFS website.