MAFPA

Are you involved with the in your area? If you are, we at put together a small list you might find helpful.

SIX THINGS TO HAVE IN YOUR GO-BAG (OR BAKKIE) FOR GOING OUT TO A FIRE:

🔥 Drinking water (we recommend at LEAST 2 litres per person),

🔥 Some (A long cotton shirt and good quality jeans will do. We also recommend a good hat and some goggles),

🔥 A lighter (you never know when you might need to make a backburn),

🔥 A torch ( at night gets dark once the fire is dead!),

🔥 Duct tape (for quick fixes on any equipment),

🔥 A small first aid kit (even if you aren’t trained in first aid, it is good to have what you need to deal with any small injuries).

You could show up to a fire with a lot more (or a lot less), but this is a pretty good start, with everything you will need without being too much. Of course, don’t forget your chosen firefighting equipment.
If you have something you think is essential (or just really good) to take with to veldfires, tell us in the comments. Maybe you can help someone out.

FIRE DANGER INDEX

Here's how it works:

🔥Blue and green are generally safe days and, though care should always be taken around fire, things are far less likely to get out of hand. Blue or green days are often good days for controlled burns.

🔥Take extra care around fires on yellow days, and you should not do any controlled burns when the rating is above 55. Signs of fire should be reported immediately.

🔥Orange and red days are extremely dangerous. Every person should take extreme care with and around fire/fire causing things. Any signs of smoke or fire should be reported immediately.
Stay informed and stay safe.

FIRE DANGER INDEX

Here's how it works:

🔥Blue and green are generally safe days and, though care should always be taken around fire, things are far less likely to get out of hand. Blue or green days are often good days for controlled burns.

🔥Take extra care around fires on yellow days, and you should not do any controlled burns when the rating is above 55. Signs of fire should be reported immediately.

🔥Orange and red days are extremely dangerous. Every person should take extreme care with and around fire/fire causing things. Any signs of smoke or fire should be reported immediately.

Stay informed and stay safe.

FIRE DANGER INDEX!!!

Here's how it works:

🔥Blue and green are generally safe days and, though care should always be taken around fire, things are far less likely to get out of hand. Blue or green days are often good days for controlled burns.

🔥Take extra care around fires on yellow days, and you should not do any controlled burns when the rating is above 55. Signs of fire should be reported immediately.

🔥Orange and red days are extremely dangerous. Every person should take extreme care with and around fire/fire causing things. Any signs of smoke or fire should be reported immediately.

Stay informed and stay safe.

Have you ever wondered if you could get into trouble (in a legal sense) for trying to stop a veldfire by making a burnout and the runs away?

Good news! Unless you were “acting in bad faith” or doing something that could be considered negligent, no harm can come to you. This is because section 33 of the National Veld and Forest Fire Act provides for the protection of people acting to fight , or the spread of them.

Great, right?

As always, stay safe.

Did you know a under the right conditions can go from ambient temperature to 200 degrees Celsius in 19 seconds flat.

That means once it is ignited and if the fuel conditions are right, you are potentially dealing with a 540 degree .

What does that mean? Wear your and be careful!

Stay safe everyone.

This is the Fire Danger Index (FDI) for this week.
Here's how it works:

🔥Blue and green are generally safe days and, though care should always be taken around fire, things are far less likely to get out of hand. Blue or green days are often good days for controlled burns.

🔥Take extra care around fires on yellow days, and you should not do any controlled burns when the rating is above 55. Signs of fire should be reported immediately.

🔥Orange and red days are extremely dangerous. Every person should take extreme care with and around fire/fire causing things. Any signs of smoke or fire should be reported immediately.

Stay informed and stay safe.

Important!!
Did you know that if a originated on your property, especially if the fire burnt across the property borders, you need to inform your insurance company within 30 days?

Yep! Even if there is no claim against you and you are not planning on claiming anything, it’s still a good idea to inform your insurer within 30 days so that the incident is on record with your company.

Otherwise, it’s quite possible for them to repudiate any based on your failure to tell them about the incident before the 30-day time period lapsed. Not all insurance companies will be like this, but better safe than sorry.

With fire season on the go, it seemed the right time to talk about this so that more people can make and hopefully stay out of sticky legal situations.

Stay safe.🔥

Hi everyone
We wanted to take some time to remind you all to ensure your is in working order and serviced if you have not already. Check all the hand equipment like fire beaters and drip torches. Tighten loose fittings on pumps, fix leaking hoses, service your bakkie-sakkie, and make sure you know where the rest of your PPE and PPC is! Go through the MAFPA equipment list and make sure you have what is required. Set your house in order because it’s .
Stay safe.

PREPARE
Don’t wait until it is too late to get things in order.

The first frost fell much later than normal, and the first decent frost only arrived on the 8th of June in the area, killing most of the grass and other vegetation for the winter. With more dead, dry vegetation comes more fires, so we must be prepared.

By now, many sectors should have their communal firebreaks in place, lessening the shared risk. If you have no firebreak in place and know of no communal firebreaks, we recommend contacting your sector Fire Boss for more info on communal fire breaks and begin working on your firebreak plan as soon as possible. Make sure you and your staff are trained and well equipped for this fire season, and get your firefighting equipment in working order.

It is too late to worry about you, or your staff being prepared for once a fire is burning and you have to help. Once a fire arrives, it’s too late to worry about your bakkie sakkie needing a service, or your fire beaters being broken. We need to be prepared before the time. We need to be prepared now.

FIRE SEASON UPDATE
We were wrong.

At the beginning of this 2024 , we were sure it was going to be a rough one. There were predictions for the weather to become hotter and drier, the vegetation has grown incredibly in the last two or so growing seasons, and those are indicators that we could be in for another long and difficult fire season. We were quite convinced that things would become extremely problematic with an early and protracted burning season…
It looks like we were wrong! Yup, we said it before, but we will gladly admit it again, things have been looking up! The predictions changed; it seems like we dodged a continued “El Nino” phase in next summer. Looks like we might have a blessedly mild fire season, in comparison to what it could be. This is largely because of the recent weather, particularly with the very late arrival of frost and quite unseasonal rainfall in large areas.

There have still been fires, though small ones, and there will still be fires, probably big ones too. We are not saying to let your guard down and not , that would be misleading. We are not saying that there will not be anything to worry about this season. There are always fires and we simply cannot predict the future. What we are saying is this: things are looking better than they did before and we can all be glad about that. So, let’s be glad about it while being prepared for things to go bad. Let’s make sure we have the best possible chance to cope with fires, but let’s not miss the opportunity to enjoy a fire season with a few less fires because that does not happen often at all.
That’s all guys. Stay safe.

Good to know...

Blazing changes in the National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment Bill In early April 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment Bill.  

Firebreak tip!

Members of (like MAFPA) don’t necessarily have to make firebreaks all around the perimeter of their land, because an FPA has the authority to provide (within legal parameters) specifications in their rules which the FPA members become subject to instead of the more generic rules of the Act. So, if you are an FPA member, check their rules and ask about the plan made specifically for your area.
Stay safe everyone.

This is the Fire Danger Index (FDI) for this week.

Here's how it works:

🔥Blue and green are generally safe days and, though care should always be taken around fire, things are far less likely to get out of hand. Blue or green days are often good days for controlled burns.

🔥Take extra care around fires on yellow days, and you should not do any controlled burns when the rating is above 55. Signs of fire should be reported immediately.

🔥Orange and red days are extremely dangerous. Every person should take extreme care with and around fire/fire causing things. Any signs of smoke or fire should be reported immediately.