Essential campfire safety tips you need to know
If you are planning on sitting around the campfire toasting marshmallows, it is important that you are aware of the rules and regulations around lighting campfires.
During the bushfire season, campers should be checking the Fire Danger Rating each day before deciding to light any campfires. Restrictions around campfires within national park and forestry reserves vary, and a full list of these can be found on the National Parks and Wildlife Service SA website.
If there are no Total Fire Bans in place a campfire may be permitted, provided:
- it is in a properly constructed fireplace; or
- it is in a portable cooking appliance; or
- the fire is in a 30cm deep trench and no more than one metre square in area; and
- you have a four-metre cleared space around and above the fire; and
- a responsible person is monitoring the fire at all times; and
- an adequate agent to extinguish the fire is at hand.
Campfires are often a source of damaging fires and campers should be bushfire smart when spending time outdoors during the fire danger season.
Make sure you fully extinguish the fire before you leave the area. Remember that generators can emit sparks which could go unnoticed or start a fire so ensure you have a four-metre space around them and extinguishing tools nearby to put a fire out should it start.
Campsites are often off the beaten track where there is little shelter from bushfires. It is important that people camping have alternative exit routes from their campsite and access to a transistor radio so they can check the latest information in the event of a fire nearby.
Campfire Checklist
- Have I checked the Fire Danger Rating?
- Is there a total fire ban? If yes, no campfires are permitted in that Fire Ban District.
- If camping in a national park, have I checked the National Parks and Wildlife Service SA website to ensure a campfire is permitted within the park?
- Is my campfire situated in a properly constructed fireplace, a portable cooking appliance or in a 30cm deep trench, and no more than one square metre in area?
- Do I have a four-metre cleared space around and above the fire?
- Is a responsible person in attendance?
- Do I have adequate equipment to extinguish the fire?
- Have I located alternative exit routes and communicated these to my group?
- Do I have access to a portable, battery-powered radio so I can check the latest information in the event of a fire nearby?
For more information on outdoor recreational fire safety, check out what you can and can't do.