Fire season is starting. If your crew welds, grinds or gas cuts, it's worth knowing what the fire authorities say well before the day of the job.
What a Total Fire Ban means for hot work
The NSW Rural Fire Service says general purpose hot works (such as welding, grinding or gas cutting or any activity that produces a spark or flame) are not to be done in the open during a Total Fire Ban. In Victoria, CFA says welding, grinding, metal cutting and other hot works are "completely banned" on Total Fire Ban days.
Is there any way around it?
Both states have a process. In NSW, the RFS Commissioner is responsible for exemptions, and standard ones are listed in the Government Gazette each time a Total Fire Ban is declared. If those don't cover your situation, you can apply for a specific exemption, and the RFS says a minimum of seven days processing time is required to assess an application.
In Victoria, CFA says a permit may be issued by CFA, DEECA or Fire Rescue Victoria, depending on where the work is. CFA says permits are only granted in extreme circumstances, such as when safety or the upkeep of essential public services are at stake, and that permits are not guaranteed. Applications go through Fire Permits Victoria.
A permit doesn't pass the risk on
CFA says following a permit's conditions "does not remove the permit holder's legal responsibility for any damage caused by a fire they light." Worth knowing before anyone treats a permit as a free pass.
Outside a ban day, summer rules still apply
CFA says that during the Fire Danger Period, outdoor welding, grinding and similar work is not allowed unless conditions are met. They include a fire-resistant shield or guard, an area at least 1.5 metres clear of anything that can burn or wetted down, water on hand, and cut-offs placed in fire-proof containers. For work in other states, check the fire authority where you are.
Plan the job around the status of the day
Two practical steps: know the rules and timeframes ahead of the job, since the RFS says a specific exemption application in NSW takes a minimum of seven days to assess, and check whether a Total Fire Ban is in place before the day's hot work is signed off. Our free hot work permit template is a starting point, and the permit templates page has the rest.
Where digital forms help
A hot work permit is only useful if it's filled in before the job and findable after it. On Shadow Forms the permit is completed on the phone and goes to your central dashboard for approval. It's stored with the date, time and who signed, ready for when someone asks to see it.
We build forms software, not safety advice. The above is a plain-English summary of what the regulators publish, and the links go to them. For your own site and your own job, check with your state regulator or someone qualified.
Try it free for 14 days, no card required, and we'll set it up with you.
