31Fire brigade not to be constituted unless authorised

31 Fire brigade not to be constituted unless authorised

31 Fire brigade not to be constituted unless authorised

(1) It is unlawful for any persons to constitute or maintain a fire brigade for the purpose of extinguishing fire within any fire district except—

(a) as a permanent or retained fire brigade under the authority of this Act, or

(b) on premises or land owned or used by the persons or at which they are employed.

(1A) It is unlawful for any persons to constitute or maintain any body for the purpose of taking measures referred to in section 5A (2) in relation to hazardous material incidents except—

(a) as a permanent or retained fire brigade under the authority of this Act, or

(b) on premises or land owned or used by the persons or at which they are employed, or

(c) where the body consists of employees of the persons and the body is constituted to deal with incidents involving hazardous materials owned by or transported by vehicles or other means of transport owned by the persons, or

(d) with the approval of the Commissioner.

(2) A person who acts in contravention of this section is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.

s 31: Am 1993 No 110, Sch 1 (22); 2018 No 59, Sch 3 [4] [8].