The IFA recently released its position paper on firefighting at night. The applicability of firefighting at night has been challenged in many inquiries over the past few decades as greater attention to workplace safety standards have been applied. Clearly, firefighting is not an operation that can be treated like a factory floor where all risks may be engineered out of the process.

When dealing with bushfires, it is impossible to eliminate all risks to worker health and safety. On the factory floor, if a risk can’t be eliminated, then the activity should be suspended. However, this is not always possible for bushfire suppression, especially as part of an emergency response. Agencies with legislated bushfire responsibilities need to conduct firefighting activities around the clock if they are to meet their obligations of protecting life, property and the environment.

To read the paper, click HERE