The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department has declared a no burn period for all individuals, organisations and landowners within the boundaries of Tshwane.
The designated period during which no burning is allowed is from 1 August to 30 September each year. Should landowners want to burn anything in Tshwane, they should apply to the City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department to get approval. Approval for burning will be conditional upon several factors, including the Fire Danger Index, South African Weather Service warnings and the outcome of the inspections conducted by the Fire Protection Officer.
Applications can be emailed to the Chief of Emergency Services at emergencyservices@tshwane.gov.za or physically handed in at the Fire Safety Section at Bosman Fire Station situated at the corner of Minnaar and Bosman Street, Pretoria Central.
Fire Danger Index table
| Description | Colour | Category | Precaution |
| SAFE | BLUE | 0 – 20 | Low fire hazard. Controlled burn operations can normally be executed with a reasonable degree of safety. |
| MODERATE | GREEN | 21 – 45 | Although controlled burning operations can be executed without creating a fire hazard, care must be taken when burning on exposed, dry slopes. Keep constant watch for unexpected wind speed and direction changes. |
| DANGEROUS | YELLOW | 46 – 60 | Controlled burning not recommended when fire danger index exceeds 45. Aircraft should be called in at early stages of a fire. |
| VERY DANGEROUS | ORANGE | 61 – 75 | No controlled burning of any nature should take place. Careful note should be taken of any sign of smoke anywhere, especially on the upwind side of any plantation. Any fire should be attacked with maximum force at hand, including all aircraft at the time. |
| EXTREMELY DANGEROUS | RED | 75< | All personnel and equipment should be removed from the field.
Fire teams, labour and equipment are to be placed on full standby. At first sign of smoke, every possible measure should be taken in order to bring the fire under control in the shortest possible time. All available aircraft are to be called for without delay. |
CITY OF TSHWANE FIRE BRIGADE SERVICE BY-LAW
Making fires
Sections 9(1), (2) and (3) of the City of Tshwane Fire Brigade Service By-law states as follows:
9(1) No person may, within the area, make an open, uncontrollable, or unattended fire or permit a fire to be made in such a place and/or in such a manner as to pose a real or potentially real threat to any human being, animal, building, premises or other property: Provided that this prohibition is not applicable to –
(a) a fire in an approved, purpose-made stove, fireplace or hearth which is an integral part of a structure;
(b) a fire for preparing food on private premises or premises set aside for that purpose; and
(c) a device for preparing food, which device is heated by means of electricity or liquid petroleum gas and is positioned in such a way that the device poses no threat to life or property on any premises.
(2) No person may, without the written authority of the Service, burn any refuse, wood, straw, or other combustible materials within the area, or have them burnt or permit them to be burnt within the area, unless the refuse, wood, straw or other combustible materials are burnt inside an approved purpose-made incinerator or incinerating device, subject to the provisions of subsection (1).18
(3) Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of this section is guilty of an offence.
Firebreaks
Sections 10(1), (2) and (3) of the City of Tshwane Fire Brigade Service By-law states as follows:
10(1) The owner or occupier of premises in the area may not permit the premises to be or become overgrown with grass, weeds, reeds, shrubs, and trees to the extent that the grass, weeds, reeds, shrubs, and trees may pose a real or potentially real fire hazard to any adjoining premises or other premises or property.
(2) The owner or occupier of –
(a) an erf or premises situated within a proclaimed township in the area must remove the fire hazard or ensure that the fire hazard is removed by –
(i) cutting to a maximum height of 150 mm above ground level any grass, reeds and/or weeds which may reasonably be connected with the fire hazard;
(ii) cutting around any shrubs and/or trees which may be standing in the area being cut;
(iii) pruning, chopping down or sawing off such shrubs and/or trees, as the case may be; and (iv) removing all chopped and/or sawn off residue from the erf or premises or ensuring that the residue is removed; and
(b) an agricultural holding or farm situated in the area must reduce the potential fire hazard by physically clearing a safety fire belt, at least 5 m wide (measured parallel from each boundary line which borders the premises to the inside of the premises) so that no vegetation or residue whatsoever remains on this belt, and the owner or occupier must at all times maintain the belt or ensure that the belt is maintained in such condition: Provided that where obstructions occur within the 5m belt, a 5m belt is also maintained around those obstructions.
(3) Notwithstanding the above, the provisions of the National Veld and Forest Fire Act, 1998 (Act 101 of 1998) and the regulations there-under, apply mutatis mutandis to the application of this section.
Compliance with the National Veld and Forest Fire Act, 1998 (Act 101 of 1998) and the City of Tshwane Fire Brigade Service By-law published under Local Authority Notice 396 in Provincial Gazette Extraordinary No 83, Volume 22 of 9 March 2016, applies to all Fire Protection Associations as well as all individuals, organisations and owners of land defined in the National Veld and Forest Fire Act, 1998 in order to prevent, predict, manage and extinguish veldfires.
To report any fire or rescue emergency incident, please call 107 toll-free or alternatively call 012 358 6300/6400.