How to Plan for Bushfire Before the Rating Hits Extreme
A workplace bushfire emergency plan tells your crew what to do when the fire danger rating rises, long before anyone sees smoke. Most site fire plans deal with fires that start on the site. A bushfire plan starts with the daily fire danger rating for your area.
The NSW statutory Bush Fire Danger Period runs from 1 October to 31 March, although local dates can vary. Fire danger peaks at different times of year in other states. If your site sits near bush or grassland, it's prudent to have your plan in place before the hot, dry winds arrive.
What Should a Workplace Bushfire Emergency Plan Include?
WHS rules place a duty of care on business owners and workplace managers, known as the PCBU. Regulation 43 of the model WHS Regulations requires them to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan. SafeWork NSW says that plan must include emergency procedures, frequent testing, and training for workers. It also lists bushfires among the neighbouring hazards to consider. For summer risks such as extreme weather, bushfire and smoke, it recommends a SeasonalSAFE Plan.
Safe Work Australia has published an information sheet explaining how to use fire danger ratings and warnings in a bushfire risk assessment. Use it to shape a plan that answers these questions in writing:
- Who checks the fire danger rating each day, and by what time?
- Which rating triggers which action?
- Who has authority to pause operations or make the call on closing site?
- Where are the emergency escape routes and emergency assembly areas?
- How do you connect with each worker and those out of phone range?
- Do you have a way of keeping a record of site visitors and subcontractors?
- Who monitors official warnings once a fire starts?
The appointed PCBU is responsible for organising the plan and answering those questions. We dive deeper into emergency procedure responsibility in our blog.
What Should Your Site Do at Each Fire Danger Rating?
Australia has used one national fire danger rating system since the end of 2022. There are four levels, and each one responds to a greater threat to people and property. Having the right response ready for each level keeps your people safe.
Moderate and High: Prepare and Check
Moderate means plan and prepare. High means be ready to act and decide what you will do if a fire starts. Use these days to review the plan, brief new starters, and test alarms and radios. Confirm that every warden and supervisor knows the triggers for the next two levels.
Extreme: Act Now to Protect Life and Property
Extreme means take action now to protect life and property. The national guidance tells you to check your bushfire plan. If you and your property aren't prepared to the highest level, go to a safer location well before a fire arrives. Your plan should already name who decides whether work continues, which tasks stop first, and who confirms the site is clear.
Catastrophic: No Time to Hang Around
Catastrophic means leave bushfire risk areas for your survival. The national guidance advises going early, either in the morning or the night before. If a fire starts near you, it says to act immediately without waiting for a warning. A plan that follows that message decides the day before whether the site opens at all.
Why Does a Total Fire Ban Stop Hot Work?
Welding, grinding and gas cutting all throw sparks. A total fire ban is a precaution that stops sparks from setting fire to areas already at high risk. During a ban, the NSW RFS doesn't allow general purpose hot works in the open, and it suspends fire permits. Bans usually fall on days rated Extreme or Catastrophic.
Exemptions come from the Government Gazette or a specific application, and the RFS needs at least seven days to assess an application and determine whether it can go ahead. Lighting a fire on a ban day can cost you an on-the-spot fine of $2,200.
Add a ban check to your hot work permit. Our hot work fire safety guide explains the checks a hot work permit should confirm, including the fire watcher and post-work controls.
Systems to Reinforce the Plan
Regulation 43 also requires effective communication between the plan coordinator and everyone onsite. On a spread-out site, the four systems we recommend are:
- A Cygnus wireless alarm system can send SMS alerts to up to 10 phone numbers and, through its UHF module, broadcast voice alerts over site radios.
- Two-way radios keep crews in touch where phones drop out, and our UHF channel guide covers which channels your site can use.
- 127dB siren kits and voice announcement speakers cut through plant noise.
- PHOS-CHEK Wildfire Home Defence Fire Retardant coats dry grass and vegetation around a property to slow how fast it burns, and is best applied months before fire season.
Send us your site layout, headcount and the direction your fire risk comes from, and we'll review your communication coverage.
Set the Plan Before Extremity Hits
Bushfire season is always forecast. The sites that come through it safely are the ones that prepare early, stay vigilant and have a plan in place before flames reach the doorstep. We're here to help you work through the groundwork and planning your site needs, so you get in front of fire season and put a firebreak between your people and the flames.
Call 1800 273 473 or email sales@checkpointgroup.com.au and ask us for a site safety review of your emergency plan, alarms and radios before the ratings climb.
