Wildfires in rural working environments She’s a cracker day in the sunshine, no rain for a few weeks or more and it’s drying off. It’s gonna be a ripper hot day. The summers are getting hotter and dryer. Early starts and the beach for the arvo with a cold one. OR IS IT? HEALTH & SAFETY Fire fighter and stakeholder safety takes priority over other fire response considerations. Rural business operators such as farmers and forest owners - as well as FENZ - are Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs) and must comply with their duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. They must, as far as reasonably practicable, consult, co-operate with, and co-ordinateactivities with each other. They have a duty of care that people working on their land have the skills and level of training for their tasks. FENZ must make sure the health and safety requirements of owners and fire fighters are met.
If you are trained, FENZ may ask for your help to fight the fire
Auckland. However, this can be much greater in very dry years.
Wildfire is a killer – it can injure and cause huge economic loss. We have had unfortunate deaths with
The areas at the greatest risk from wildfires are the drier regions of the east coasts of both islands (Marlborough, Canterbury, Central Otago, Hawke’s Bay, and the East Coast), Waikato and Northland. Slightly more than half the area burned each year is grassland, scrubland makes up most of the rest, with forests accounting for just 6% (Scion 2015)
• farmers caught in burn offs when clearing land,
• fires set alight by machinery working and getting out of control, or • fire starter ratbags.
• Virtually all of the more than 3000 wildfires reported each year are started accidentally or deliberately by people. Natural causes like lightning account for less than 1% of wildfires. A review of 15 years of New Zealand wildfire statistics by Scion fire researchers found 30% of wildfires are the result of land clearing burns getting out of control, a further 6% are started by vehicles, 5% by fireworks and firearms, and 25% by recreational campfires. The actual number of fires started by these causes is likely to be higher, as the cause of roughly half of all wildfires is classified as unknown or miscellaneous. Wildfires burn close to 6000 ha of land each year on average, an area the size of greater
Wildfire causes 1% spontaneous combustion 5% fireworks 6% machinery & equipment
4% powerlines 10% cigarettes
25% campfires 19% suspicious
30% land-clearing
10
1% spontaneous combustion 5% fireworks 6% machinery & equipment
ISSUE 60 / MARCH 2021
ARE YOU PREPARED TO CONTROL THE FIRE OR GET AWAY SAFELY? What can I do to be aware of the risk in my Contracting and/or Fencing Business? Assess the day – my Prestart:
• Will I be working with plant or tools that have the potential to spark and catch fire to dry grass? • What’s the area I am working in – Forestry boundary, Hay paddock, Roadside?
• Have I got the correct fire extinguisher if required?
• The emergency plan: Who to call – 111 • An escape route in case
GUIDELINES TO FIRE RISK • Check the weather
• Look at the weather for your district, information can be gathered about the safety of different activities with operating machines or hot works. Wind can play an important part in the risk level also. Do you need a permit for the activities you are undertaking? Is it a closed fire season?
• Don’t park vehicles on dry flammable material like long grass. One in every six wildfires is started by a vehicle. • Be careful with cigarettes, matches and lighters. • Remember, if you are found to be responsible for starting a wildfire, you could have to pay the cost of putting it out and for any damage incurred.
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