FAQ
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF PEOPLE IN CONTROL OF LAND.
All owners on whose land a veldfire may start or burn or from whose land it may spread must:
- Prepare firebreaks on their side of the boundary if there is a reasonable risk of veldfire.
- Have such equipment, protective clothing and trained personnel for extinguishing fires as are prescribed (in the regulations).
- If there are no regulations, reasonably required in the circumstances.
- Take all reasonable steps to notify the FPO of the local FPA (if there is one) when a fire breaks out.
- Do everything in their power to stop the spread of the fire.
The Act also requires that if the owner is absent, he or she must have a responsible person present on or nearby his or her land to:
- Extinguish a fire if one broke out, or assist others to do so.
- Take all reasonable steps to alert the neighbors and the FPA (if there is one).
The owner may appoint an agent to act on his or her behalf to perform these duties.
WHO IS AN ‘OWNER’ IN TERMS OF THE ACT?
‘Owner’ means any landowner with title deed as well as a lessee or other person legally controlling land, the executive body of a community, the manager of State land, and the chief executive officer of any local authority, or their duly appointed agents in the cases of State land (including South African National Defense Force land).
State land means:
- National or provincial land (but not municipal land)
- Land held in trust for communities by the Minister of Land Affairs or the Ingonyama Trust.
State landowners must become members of an FPA if one is registered in the area where the land is located. The Minister of the government department or member of the provincial executive council exercising control over the land, or a person authorized by him or her, must be represented on the FPA unless the land is controlled by:
- a person contemplated in s2(1)(xiii)(a) (a title deed holder, lessee, or person controlling the land in terms of a contract, will. law or order of the High Court) or
- a community.
AM I OBLIGED TO JOIN AN FPA IF ONE FORMS IN MY AREA?
It is not compulsory for most owners to join an FPA if one is registered in the area they live in. This is because the right to freedom of association in the Constitution must be upheld, but also because landowners themselves need to make a firm commitment, voluntarily, to co-operate through FPAs. Certain landowners must join an FPA when it has registered:
- The owners of State land, whether it is held by the national or provincial government.
- The owners of land held in trust for communities by the Minister of Land Affairs or the Ingonyama Trust, which usually means the executive body of community exercising control over that land, because they are in control of land held in trust for them by the State.
- A municipality within the area of the FPA, if it has a fire service.
WHAT ABOUT NON-MEMBERS INSIDE AN FPA’S AREA?
Non-FPA members are not bound by the rules of an FPA. However, municipal landowners must be members of the FPA. It is possible for the local council to pass by-laws which are binding on everybody inside the municipal area. An FPA is able to object to the burning of firebreaks within its area, regardless of whether the party is a member or not. In this way, an FPA may enforce its own rules on members and non-members.
WHAT IS THE NATIONAL FIRE DANGER RATING SYSTEM?
The National Fire Danger Rating System rates the fire danger on any given day in a particular region, given a particular set of circumstances. The rating ranges from insignificant (code blue, where there is such a low fire danger that no precaution is needed) to extreme (code red, where the danger is so high ‘that no fires may be allowed in the open air and special emergency fire measures must be invoked. This section of the Act (Chapter 3) is unfortunately not been brought into effect because DFFE has not yet decided which fire danger rating model to use.
WHEN IS A FIREBREAK NECESSARY?
Landowners are required to prepare firebreaks on their side of the boundary where there is a reasonable risk of a veldfire (Section 12(1).
How do we know what a reasonable risk is? The courts use the “reasonable person test”:
- If a reasonable person in the position of the landowner would foresee that by not preparing a firebreak, a veldfire could start or spread across his or her land, causing harm to someone else,
- and therefore, would prepare one,
- then the landowner should also prepare one.
The Act does not specify requirements for firebreaks because the specific requirements for an effective firebreak vary from place to place.
WHO MAY ENFORCE THE ACT?
A registered FPO, a forest officer, a police officer, and an officer appointed in terms of section 5 or 6 of the Fire Brigade Services Act, 1987 (Act No. 99 of 1987), have the power to enforce the Act. References to an FPO in sections, 27, 28 and 29 includes all the abovementioned officials. An FPO must carry an identification to be able to exercise these powers. An FPO may delegate any of his or her powers and duties, except the power to arrest, search and seize.
WHAT IS INTEGRATED FIRE MANAGEMENT?
Integrated Fire Management is a series of actions that includes fire awareness activities, fire prevention activities, prescribed burning, resource sharing and coordination, fire detection, fire suppression, fire damage rehabilitation and research at local, provincial and national levels in order to create a sustainable and well-balanced environment, reduce unwanted wildfires damage and promote the beneficial use of fire.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DAMAGES THAT I SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF A FIRE?
A number of different people could be liable for these damages, including:
- The person who started the fire, or their employer, if it was started when they were at work;
- The owner or the person in control of the land where the fire started;
- The owner or the person in control of the land over which the fire spread.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COSTS OF FIGHTING FIRES?
The costs of fighting a fire can be recovered from anyone who had a legal duty to prevent the fire from starting or spreading, or who had a legal duty to fight the fire.
WHAT CAN I DO IF MY NEIGHBOUR DOES NOT REMOVE A FIRE HAZZARD FROM HIS PROPERTY?
- Report the matter to the registered fire protection association in the area.
- Make a complaint to the designated Fire and Rescue Services and request that the property in question be inspected.
- Write a letter to the neighbor explaining that their actions are unlawful, requesting that they sort the problem out an point out to them that, if they fail to do so, your letter may be used against them in a subsequent court case.
DOES FIREBREAKS STOP THE SPREAD OF WILDFIRES?
- In certain circumstances (favorable weather conditions, low fuel loads, etc.) firebreaks are successful in preventing the spread of wildfires; however
- Firebreaks provide an area of reduced fuel load which will reduce the intensity of a fire and therefore allow for more effective combating; and
- Provide access to combat a wildfire; and
- To serve as a line from which a back burn / counter burn can be started.
