Fire Service Act 1979

The brigade chief of a brigade shall, subject to the directions of the Chief Officer, control, direct, and regulate the working of the brigade.

Subject to section 39, the brigade chief of a brigade shall, on receipt of a call to a fire or potential fire, immediately after the first alarm, direct or cause members of his brigade to proceed with all possible speed to the place where the fire or potential fire is and take all necessary action to extinguish the fire or prevent an occurrence of fire and to save all property.

A brigade chief – may, either alone or with other persons under his command, enter and, if necessary, force open any outer or inner doors of any premises which are on fire or in the vicinity of a fire for the purpose of taking any action which he considers necessary for extinguishing, or for preventing the extension of, the fire, and may take, or give directions for taking, any equipment onto or over any land or premises which he considers convenient for the purpose; may take any measures which appear to him necessary or expedient for the protection of life and property, and may cause – any premises to be entered, taken possession of, or pulled down; any ship to be entered, taken possession of, or sunk; or any premises or ship to be otherwise damaged, destroyed, or removed – for the purpose of extinguishing or preventing the spread of fire; may cause water to be shut off from any main or pipe in order to obtain a greater pressure and supply of water for the purpose of extinguishing any fire; may give such directions or take such other action as he considers necessary – for the closure of any street, road, lane, or other thoroughfare in the vicinity of a fire; and for regulating the use by persons or vehicles of any street, road, lane, or other thoroughfare in the vicinity of a fire; may, at any time, pull down or shore up any wall or premises damaged by fire which may be, or may be likely to become, dangerous to life or property; shall have the control and direction of any industry fire brigade present at any fire, and of any persons who voluntarily place their services at his disposal; may remove or cause to be removed any person, vehicle, or thing whose presence at or in the vicinity of any fire in his opinion interferes with the operations of the brigade, and may take any measures which appear to him expedient for the protection of life and property; may cause the debris resulting from a fire and any premises or ship where a fire has occurred to be searched, and may remove and keep possession of anything which may prove the cause of a fire; may cause the supply of gas, electricity or other form of energy to any premises in the vicinity of a fire to be shut off or disconnected; may cause any vegetation or flammable materials in the vicinity of a fire to be removed or destroyed; may cause fire breaks to be made to prevent the outbreak or spread of fire; may cause the access to any place threatened or likely to be threatened by fire to be made or improved; and may exercise such other powers and perform such other functions as may be prescribed.

A brigade chief shall not exercise the powers conferred on him under – subsection (3)(d) where a police officer is present at the fire; or subsection (3)(h) where an investigation to ascertain whether a crime has been committed is being held by one or more police officers, without the approval of that officer or the most or more senior of those officers.

Every person supplying gas, electricity, or other form of energy to any premises which are on fire or any premises in the vicinity of any fire shall, on being directed by a brigade chief to do so, immediately send some competent person to shut off or disconnect the supply of the gas, electricity, or other form of energy to those premises.

A person supplying gas, electricity, or other form of energy to any premises shall not be liable for any damage by reason of any interruption of the supply of the gas, electricity, or other form of energy resulting from the carrying out of any direction given under subsection (5).

Where a fire or a potential fire occurs on or in any land or premises, and a brigade chief of a brigade in attendance at the fire is satisfied that, by reason of the nature of the fire or potential fire on or in the land or premises, it is necessary or desirable to do so for the purpose of preventing outbreaks of fire, or the entry of persons on areas of danger, or damage to, or interference with, any property or goods, the brigade chief may, when the fire has been extinguished, place in charge of the land or premises at, or in the vicinity of, the fire such members of the brigade or other persons as the brigade chief directs.

Where members of a brigade or any other persons have been placed in charge of any land or premises in accordance with subsection (7), the brigade chief may give to those members or persons such directions as he considers necessary for the purpose of this section, and shall, as soon as practicable after giving the directions, provide those members or persons with a written authority specifying the time for which, and the conditions under which, they have been so placed in charge of the land or premises.

A member of a brigade or other person placed in charge of any land or premises in accordance with subsection (7) shall, while remaining in charge of the land or premises, give effect to all directions given to him in relation to the land or premises by the brigade chief.

The brigade chief of a brigade, in addition to the functions and powers imposed and conferred on him under subsections (1), (2), (3), (7), and (8), shall – cause a register to be kept containing the names, ages, occupations, and places of residence of all members of the brigade; summon at least once a month all or as many members of the brigade as may be required for practice in order to render the members fit and efficient for service; have at all times the immediate charge and control of all equipment, premises, and other property of the Commission allocated to his brigade, and shall cause that equipment, those premises, and that property to be kept in a fit state at all times for efficient service; at all times have free access to any land, ship, or premises for the purpose of ascertaining and reporting to the Chief Officer on any infringement of the laws relating to the storage of hazardous materials or flammable liquid, or on any matters relating to the storage, in or on that land, ship, or premises, of any packages, sawdust, shavings, hay, or straw, or other flammable substance or matter; at all times have free access to any – premises specified in a licence granted under the Liquor Licensing Act 1990; or premises set up for the purpose of providing overnight lodging facilities for tourists or travellers for a consideration; or place of assembly within the meaning of the Public Health Act 1997; or place of public entertainment within the meaning of Division 8 of Part 5 of the Local Government (Building and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993 – and shall report to the Chief Officer any case where the provisions of this Act are not being observed in any of the premises specified in subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii), and may in respect of any of those provisions, exercise all the powers and authorities that are conferred on inspectors by or under any of the Acts specified in those subparagraphs; make such investigations and render such reports to the Chief Officer as the Chief Officer may require; and furnish a Committee with such advice, assistance, and information as the Committee requires to enable it to carry out its functions under this Act.

The powers and functions of a brigade chief under this section may, on the brigade chief's instructions or in the case of the brigade chief's absence or incapacity, be exercised or performed by the most senior fire officer of the brigade or, in the absence of a fire officer, the most senior fire-fighter of the brigade.

In relation to an emergency involving the escape of a dangerous substance or a situation that involves imminent danger of such an escape, a brigade chief has the same powers and functions as the brigade chief has under this section in relation to a fire or potential fire.

In this section – ASCC means the Australian Safety and Compensation Council, being the tripartite (government, employer and employee) body of that name that was established under the executive power of the Commonwealth to – lead and coordinate national efforts to improve occupational health and safety and workers compensation arrangements; and declare national standards and codes of practice in relation to occupational health and safety matters; and provide government with policy advice on those matters; dangerous substance is a substance that – has the potential to cause harm to persons, property or the environment because of one or more of the following:the chemical properties of the substance; the physical properties of the substance; the biological properties of the substance; and is, but is not limited to, the following:a dangerous good, within the meaning of the Dangerous Goods (Road and Rail Transport) Act 2010; a combustible liquid under the Australian Standard AS 1940 The Storage and Handling of Flammable and Combustible Liquids made by Standards Australia, as amended from time to time; a substance that is, or is capable of being, classified as a hazardous substance according to the Approved Criteria for Classifying Hazardous Substances published by the ASCC; an agricultural chemical product within the meaning of the Agvet Code of Tasmania; a veterinary chemical product within the meaning of the Agvet Code of Tasmania;Standards Australia means Standards Australia International Ltd ACN 087 326 690.