Approval of Fire Safety Requirements for Areas Covered with Forest or Other Vegetation
Regulation No. 46 of 15 June 1998 of the Minister of the Environment
Pursuant to subsection 21(4) of the Rescue Act (RT I 1994, 28, 424; 1998, 39, 598), I hereby establish:
1. to approve the ‘Fire safety requirements for areas covered with forest or other vegetation’
(attached);
2. to repeal clause 1 of Regulation No. 24 ‘Approval of fire safety requirements for areas
covered with forest or other vegetation’ of 17 April 1996 of the Minister of the Environment
(RTL 1996, 59, 377).
Minister Villu REILJAN
Secretary General Rein RATAS
Approved by
Regulation No. 46 of 15 June 1998
of the Minister of the Environment
Fire Safety Requirements for Areas Covered with
Forest or Other Vegetation
1. Fire safety requirements for areas covered with forest or other vegetation (hereinafter fire
safety requirements) regulate the obligations and rights of natural and legal persons, local
governments and state agencies in preventing fires in areas of high fire risk covered with
forests or other vegetation.
2. For the purpose of these fire safety requirements, areas of high fire risk mean areas covered
with forest and other types of vegetation such as foggage, easily inflammable shrubs (e.g.
juniper shrubs), suffrutescent shrubs (heather, wild rosemary, shrubby cinquefoil) and dry
reed; and peatland areas.
3. A period of high fire risk in areas of high fire risk begins in spring after the melting of snow
and ends with the arrival of rainy weather in autumn.
4. During the period of high fire risk, the following activities are prohibited in an area of high
fire risk:
1. smoking, except in specially designated and marked places or in places with mineral soil and
no vegetation or its remnants, or except at times when the ground is wet from rain or dew;
2. making of fire, except in specially designated and marked places;
3. burning of slashings or other litter (inflammable municipal or industrial waste, dried
vegetation), except in areas with mineral soil at a time when the ground is wet from rain.
4. burning of foggage, except for burning of foggage for the purpose of fire prevention in
conformity with clause 10 of these fire safety requirements;
5. burning of litter, straw, etc. that generates a lot of smoke, except in case the alarm centre of
the rescue service agency has been previously notified of such activity to avoid false alarm;
6. any other activity that may cause fire.
1. An owner or holder of land is required to:
1. obstruct human access to forest in the case of closing forests in compliance with legal acts;
2. mark places of water extraction and keep roads passable;
3. provide assistance to persons and agencies carrying out fire extinguishing and rescue works in
preventing fire from spreading and in fire extinguishing;
4. establish a fire line with the width of at least 2.5 metres between an area of high fire risk and
any object that involves operations of high explosion risk or fire risk and is located in the
immediate vicinity of the area of high fire risk;
5. arrange for supervision over the implementation of these fire safety requirements.
1. For prevention of high fire risk in an area of high fire risk, an owner or holder of land shall:
1. establish and maintain fire lines with the width of at least 2.5 metres in coniferous forests and
in areas covered with foggage, easily inflammable shrubs, suffrutescent shrubs or dried reed,
in order to prevent possible spreading of fire. In peatlands, dig a ditch that reaches either the
mineral horizon or beneath the surface water level;
2. in coniferous forests, establish and maintain at least 40 metres wide fire belts in accordance
with clause 7 of these fire safety requirements;
3. ensure that areas of high fire risk are cleaned from slashings and other litter;
4. prepare and mark special places for smoking, making of fire and stopping of vehicles;
5. carry out explanatory work in the field of fire prevention and set out fire safety signs.
1. For the purpose of increasing fire resistance of coniferous forests, the forests shall be
partitioned by means of fire belts, taking into account the following requirements:
1. in the middle of the belt there must be an obstacle such as a road, a ditch, a river, etc., or, in
the absence of such obstacles, a specially established fire line with the width of 2.5 metres;
2. on both sides of the obstacle there must be an at least 20 metres wide belt of broad-leaved tree
domination (at least 70 per cent of the composition). If it is not possible to establish a belt of
broad-leaved tree domination due to the specific site conditions of the forest, an at least 20
metres wide conifer belt on both sides of the obstacle must be cleaned of litter, slashings and
understorey and, within that belt, lower branches of all conifers of age class II and higher shall
be cut off up to the height of 1.5-2 metres.
1. An agency or a person who administrates a state forest shall:
1. arrange for fire lookout during periods of high fire risk to ensure that a fire is detected in time
and that the alarm centre of the rescue service agency is notified thereof, and that the fire is
extinguished, in time;
2. be supplied with the fire extinguishing equipment specified in the Annex to these fire safety
requirements;
3. in the event of fire, appoint his or her representative to be at the disposal of the co-ordinator of
fire extinguishing or rescue works, with his or her task being to provide advice to the abovementioned co-ordinator on the specific nature of the area and to arrange for maintaining
contact with the administrator of state forest.
1. An agency or a person who administrates a state forest shall have the rights and obligations of
a land owner as specified in these requirements.
2. It is allowed to burn foggage, for the purpose of prevention of fire and upon prior notification
of the alarm centre of the rescue service agency thereof, in spring within two weeks following
the melting of snow from frozen ground. Foggage may be burnt at daytime in windless or
slightly windy (up to 3.3 m/s) weather. In the case of burning foggage at the side of a road or a
building, the outer edge of road land, or the land surrounding the building, shall be wetted or
mineralised prior to the burning. The person who burns foggage shall carry along fire
extinguishing equipment. Foggage shall not be burnt in areas covered with trees or bushes.
3. When making fire, the person who makes fire must not leave the fire unattended and must not
leave the place before the fire has died out or before he or she has put the fire out.
4. The person who detects a fire that is not yet being extinguished has the obligation to notify the
alarm centre of the rescue service agency immediately thereof. If the person who detects a fire
is able to extinguish the fire by himself or herself, he or she shall notify the alarm centre of the
rescue service agency thereof after the fire is extinguished.
5. The use of such means of transport that may cause fire due to a technical fault, and the
throwing of burning, incandescent or inflammable items or materials out of a means of
transport, in forests is prohibited.
6. When using a forest during a period of high fire risk for the purposes national defence, for
obtaining timber, or for organising recreation-, sports- or other mass events, the user of the
forest or the organiser of the event shall:
1. instruct the persons participating in the use of forest in fire safety requirements and fire
extinguishing techniques;
2. ensure compliance with these fire safety requirements;
3. ensure availability of primary fire extinguishing equipment;
4. appoint a person responsible for fire safety.
1. Placement of slashings on forest roads or rides or closer than 10 meters to fire lines in broadleaved or mixed forests and closer than 20 metres to fire lines in coniferous forests during
cutting works is prohibited.
2. Operators of railroads, roads and telecommunication, electric and gas transmission lines are
required to:
1. keep the road land and the transmission lines free from litter. When cleaning road land and
transmission lines that pass coniferous forests from brushwood, and when removing branches
from electric transmission lines in coniferous forests, slashings shall be burnt in accordance
with these fire safety requirements;
2. where appropriate, establish a 2.5 metres wide fire line on the borderline between road land
and forest, or burn foggage from the side of the entire road land every spring in accordance
with clause 10 of these fire safety requirements.
1. A person guilty of violation of these fire safety requirements shall bear liability established by
law.
Annex
to
‘Fire Safety Requirements for
Areas Covered with Forest or Other Vegetation
Standards of Fire Extinguishing Equipment for a Person or Agency who Administrates a State
Forest
Name of fire extinguishing equipment
Unit of
measurement
Quantity
1. Carriable (floating) motor pump (in addition to the
pump, the set must contain a suction hose, 100-metre
pressure hoses, (a) jetpipe(s) and a junction)
item
1
2. Ignition device
item
2
3. High pressure sprayer
item
6
4. Motor saw
item
2
5. Axe
item
10
6. Spade
item
10
7. Bucket (watering can)
item
10
8. First aid kit
item
1
9. Container for drinking water (20l, with 3-4 cups)
item
1
Notes:
1. An ignition device may be substituted by a set of ten torches.
2. The supply of fuel mixes and oils for the motor pump and motor saw must be sufficient for at
least three times of tanking.
3. The amount of reserve supplies of other fire extinguishing equipment (brooms, metal rakes,
blades, etc.) shall be determined in each forest district individually, taking into account the
local conditions and experience and practices of fire extinguishing.