How to Avoid Starting Agricultural Fires

Nobody who works in farming should seriously doubt the potential danger of fire.

Although most professionals working in the countryside will behave extremely responsibly in terms of reducing the fire risk, unfortunately, it is still possible to see examples of appallingly risky behaviours.

Here are a few top tips relating to things you should avoid, in order to help keep the fire risks in and around your land as low as possible.

• On grass and stubble, make sure you have mowed at least two mower widths of fire break around your buildings and your own home.


• Check all of your agricultural equipment to make sure that it is in tip-top condition. Don't have machinery leaking oil and/or fuel as it goes along. Be prepared to pay a specialist agricultural machinery provider to do your maintenance for you if you don't feel qualified to do so yourself.


• It is generally assumed that a fair proportion of countryside fires are started accidentally by people from towns who are unfamiliar with best practices and the risk in the dry season. So, keep an eye out for people that are being careless with things such as barbecues and speak to them if it seems sensible to do so. If it doesn't, contact the police.


• Be careful with glass and broken glass, getting it cleared away quickly. Depending upon the exact conditions, it can focus the sun's rays and start fires - just as you might remember experimenting with in school.


• Take particular care with supposedly cold barbecue remains. Embers can stay hot enough to start a fire for much longer than you might think. Always use water to douse any such remains before even thinking about putting them in a bin or elsewhere.


• Carry a water extinguisher or water tank with a hose with you when you are engaged in agricultural work a long way from mains points etc. In fact, this might even be a legal requirement in certain circumstances.


• Be careful with electrical connections running outdoors at or near ground level. Leaving aside any safety and related legal issues, cables can get hot and start to melt if there are wiring/load problems and that in turn can lead to fires outside. Electrical motors and machinery likewise.


• Be aware of the fire dangers arising from activities such as brazing, welding, forge work and soldering. Once again, follow legal guidelines tightly and make sure that you have things such as emergency water and fire blankets to hand, particularly if you are working outside.


• The dangers of carelessly discarded cigarettes and matches have been prominently stressed over many decades now, yet it still possible to see people being careless here. Don't be one of them!


• Make sure all of your vehicles have appropriate road surface clearance and aren't dragging things along like a damaged exhaust pipe, which is leaving a trail of sparks in its wake.

Even if not motivated by social responsibility, remember that the fines for starting fires unintentionally can go well into six figures. Things might become particularly severe if property is damaged or people injured or killed as a result.