New South Wales Consolidated Acts

FIRE BRIGADES ACT 1989 - SECT 13

13 General powers of officers at fires and hazardous material incidents

(1) At a fire, the officer in charge:

(a) may take such measures as the officer thinks proper for the protection and saving of life and property and for the control and extinguishing of the fire, and

(b) is to control and direct the operations of any fire brigade.

(1A) At the site of a hazardous material incident, the officer in charge:

(a) may take such measures as the officer thinks proper for the protection and saving of life and property, for confining and ending the incident and for rendering the site safe, and

(b) is to control and direct the operations of any fire brigade.

The site is taken to be such area in the vicinity of the incident as is for the time being determined by the officer in charge.

(2) If the fire is a bush fire (including a grass fire), the officer in charge is, as far as practicable, to carry into effect any plan of operations in force under section 52 of the Rural Fires Act 1997 in relation to the place where the fire occurs.

(3) The following provisions of this Division are intended to be particular examples of the way in which functions under this section can be exercised and are not intended to limit the generality of this section.