FIREFIGHTERS at South Australia’s busiest fire station – Dalkeith CFS – have warned locals to remain vigilant now that the fire season is over, saying it is never too early to prepare for the next one.

Captain of the Dalkeith CFS, Clint Marsh, said while a number of different rules concerning legal burning exist, local councils are completely equipped with every bit of information required to handle things safely, and legally.

“There’s a lot of legislative changes, or zone changes, year on year,” he said.

“So what I’d really recommend for land owners to do is touch base with their local council and find out what zone they live in.

“It can be a bit of a complex system to understand, whether you’re in a metropolitan zone, or a township, or a horticultural particular zone, because any of those three can be in one constituent council.

“So it’s a complex situation, but a simple phone call to the council where you live, saying what burn you want to undertake will save SAPOL, council representatives and local emergency services a lot of time in coming out when they probably didn’t need to.”

Mr Marsh also pleaded with people to be careful about what they’re burning, emphasising that only specific things are legal to burn, even with a permit.

“I need to really emphasise that it is not an open permit where you can just burn whatever you’d like,” he said.

“There’s guidelines, there’s pollution, there’s the Clean Air Act, and depending on the time you want to burn, or the day, or if it’s a public holiday – these all play a factor in whether your burn can take place.”

Dalkeith CFS’ fire prevention representative, David Knight, said as well as preparing your property for the next fire season, locals can take multiple steps to prevent falling victim to a winter fire.

“A common one to look out for is maintenance around air-conditioning,” he said.

“It’s a good idea to keep your air-conditioners well maintained and service – heaters as well – and keeping things away from open fires inside the house.

“Keep a good distance, as well as a barricade around those areas to prevent anything spilling in, or coming out.”