THERE WAS A NOTION that farmers faced a higher risk

from fires than their urban counterparts. This is partly

true, because farms are situated in rural areas where there is

a higher danger of wild fire outbreaks. Agricultural produc-

tion also coincided with the use and storage of flammable

liquids, such as fuels and chemicals that presented certain

infrastructural risks associated with fire. In addition to this,

the consequences of fires were usually worse, as it generally

took longer to detect a fire and for emergency

response teams to arrive on farms.

The South African situation is also quite unique, since

many producers provide their permanent and seasonal work-

ers with on-farm accommodation. South African producers

are not only responsible for safeguarding their own lives and

assets, but also those of their employees and in many cases

the households of these employees. Producers subsequently

needed a high level of fire safety awareness and extra

precautions to prevent and manage fire outbreaks.

LEGAL OBLIGATIONS

Complying with legal obligations relating to fire prevention

and management on farms is, however, easier said than

done. This was because producers had to take several laws

and standards into account that were scattered over various

documents and publications, ranging from the Occupational

Health and Safety Act of 1993 to the South African Building

Regulations Standards Act of 1997 and the South African Na-

tional Standards: The handling, storage and disposal of pesti-

cides document (SANS 10206:2010), to name only a few.

Producers often feel overwhelmed when sifting through

these documents for information relevant to their unique con-

ditions. The lack of knowledge in terms of legal compliance

then sometimes becomes a bigger risk than fire itself. This is

because producers will still be held accountable if something

goes wrong on the farm, whether non-compliance resulted

from ignorance or not.

Most farmers, for example, know that fire extinguishers

are required on farms, but are uncertain over the number of

extinguishers needed and where these should be positioned.

The SIZA Guide to the Law and Best Practice in Fire Safety

on Farms contains the SANS 10400 building regulation table

to allow farmers to classify the fire hazard of specific build-

ings, as well as a diagram that stipulates the number and size

of fire extinguishers required by such a building, depending

on whether a water, foam, carbon dioxide or dry chemical

extinguisher is used.

The SIZA Guide to the Law and Best Practice in Fire Safety

on Farms also addresses confusion over fire escape routes. It

explained that escape routes were required for all buildings

– whether used for accommodation, packing or storage –

where the distance from the furthest point of a building

to an exit exceeded 45 m or more. This distance shrank to

35 m, if more than 25 people worked or lived in the building,

but could be stretched to 60 m if the building was furnished

with a sprinkler system compliant and maintained by compe-

tent persons, according to the SANS 10287 standard. These

escape routes had to be wide enough to allow the population

to move rapidly along it in the event of an emergency and

they should never be obstructed.

APPLICATION

Carl Opperman, CEO of Agri Wes Cape, welcomed the guide:

“The SIZA Guide to Law and Best Practice in Fire Safety on

Farms emphasizes various important aspects observed during

fire outbreaks on farms over the past couple of years, espe-

cially when it comes to the safeguarding of accommodation

and farm buildings. It is also great, as it is written in an easy

to understand language, without the confusing jargon associ-

ated with the legal documents from which it was taken.”

Francois Brink and Carl Opperman emphasized that the

SIZA Guide to Law and Best Practice in Fire Safety on Farms

was not a replacement for the legal standards and documents

stipulated by law, but instead a compilation of the standards

and regulations most relevant to the farming sector. “It basi-

cally provides a checklist on fire equipment that can be used

as well as tips for the development of a fire management

plan and procedures to follow in case of a fire emergency,”

Opperman said.

He added that the Western Cape has suffered a lot of fire

damage over the past year, especially due to drought-like

conditions. In April this year, the Western Cape Government

estimated fire damages in the agricultural industry to have

amounted to almost R200 million over the past year. This was

before the Garden Route fires, which devastated vast areas

of land all the way from Groot Brak to Plettenberg Bay. While

the full impact of this fire has not yet been calculated, the

fire has allegedly destroyed 14 000 ha of forestry plantations,

which could lead to a timber shortfall of 100 000 tons to

150 000 tons per year over the next twenty years.

The SIZA Guide to the Law and Best Practice in Fire Safety

on Farms can be downloaded from the SIZA website at www.

siza.co.za under the Library section.