Duty of owner or occupier to control fires
90 Duty of owner or occupier to control fires
The owner or occupier of land must take all reasonable steps:
to protect property on the land from fire; and
to prevent or inhibit fire spreading from the land to other land.
(2) If the owner or occupier of land is unable to control a fire on the land, the owner or occupier must take all reasonable steps to notify the following of that fact:
a fire control officer or fire warden;
(b) the occupier of any land to which the fire is likely to spread or a person apparently over the age of 16 years present on that land.
(3) A person who is the owner or occupier of any land commits an offence if:
(a) there is a fire on the land (whether or not the person lit it); and
(b) the fire has the potential to spread to other land and the person is reckless in relation to that circumstance; and
the person intentionally fails to take reasonable steps:
to control the fire; or
(ii) if unable to control the fire – to notify a person mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (b).
Maximum penalty: 500 penalty units or imprisonment for 5 years.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory statementSecond reading speech
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