This part deals with combustible materials and refuse, making fires, fire breaks, property inspections and emergency service access and fire protection requirements for premises. It also deals with evacuation plans, maintenance of fire-fighting equipment, certificates of fitness for buildings and water supply for fire-fighting.

Compliance Obligations?

You may not store any combustible materials of whatever nature, or have them stored or permit them to be stored in such a manner and in such a position as to likely pose a fire hazard to any human being, animal, building or premises.

You may not allow grass, weeds, reeds, shrubs, trees or any like vegetation to become overgrown on premises to such an extent that it may pose a fire hazard or a probable fire hazard to any adjacent premises and/or any other person's property.

Do not allow any open fires on your premises, save for braaing or cooking.

You must ensure that all fire-fighting equipment, mitigating agents or other appropriate service installations that have been provided or installed on or in connection with the premises are maintained in a good working condition by a competent person and/or firm approved by the SABS as contemplated in SANS 1475 and registered in terms of SANS 1475.

All portable and mobile fire extinguishers and hose reels must be serviced and maintained in accordance with the provisions of SANS 10105 and SANS 1475.

You must keep a comprehensive service record of all fire-fighting equipment and any other appropriate service installation on your premises and submit the record to the Chief Fire Officer upon request by the designated officer.

Note the definition of a designated premises. A "designated premises" means any premises designated by the Chief Fire Officer with a view to an emergency evacuation plan as contemplated in section 19 of these bylaws. If you have been so designated, you must within 30 days after the premises have been designated by the Chief Fire Officer, prepare a comprehensive emergency evacuation plan for the premises, in triplicate, and must have it ready for inspection and approval by the Chief Fire Officer, which plan must be in accordance with the guidelines prescribed in Annexure III to these bylaws. Note the further requirements of section 19.

This part regulates all aspects of dangerous goods. These are defined as any substance, mixture of substances, product or material that has been declared to be a Group I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII or IX dangerous good in terms of section 2(1) of the Hazardous Substances Act 1973.

Compliance Obligations?

If you own a premises where there is a building in respect of which a floor layout change, addition, alteration, upgrading and/or renovation is envisaged, or you own premises on which bulk, aboveground and underground installations and any other structures are to be erected for the use, storage or handling of dangerous goods or erected in connection with such use, storage or handling, you must submit plans in triplicate to the Council on the prescribed form obtainable from the office of the Building Control Officer.

You may not use, handle or store quantities of dangerous goods in excess of the quantities referred to in section 24 of the by-law or permit them to be used, handled or stored, unless and until you are in possession of a certificate of registration as provided for in Annexure II to these bylaws and which was issued in respect of the specific quantities and appropriate devices on approved premises. Note that if only one of the groupings referred to in section 24 is present on the premises and the applicable maximum permissible quantity is not exceeded, the provisions of this section are not applicable.

When working with dangerous goods, you may not do anything or allow anything to be done that may reasonably result in or cause a fire or an explosion or do anything or allow anything to be done that may obstruct the escape to safety of any human being or animal during an emergency. Note the various prohibitions contained in section 30(2).

Ensure that the required no smoking signage appears where flammable and/or explosive dangerous goods are used, stored and handled.

Note the requirement to remove obsolete tanks, installations or devices or to have the tanks or devices removed, or filled up with matter approved by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in order to render the tanks safe.

This part sets out the requirements for storerooms, and procedures required for the keeping and handling of dangerous goods in storerooms.

Compliance Obligations?

Ensure that any dangerous goods store rooms that you have meet with the compliance requirements of this part of the by-law. In particular note the requirements for the display of danger notices and certificates of registration, for the design and construction of doors, windows and catch pits, the design requirements for ventilation, electrical equipment and installations, and finally the requirement to control access.

Note the requirements of section 44 in relation to the keeping and handling of dangerous goods in a store room.