Introduction to Fire Safety Management

available and the nature of any incident. The resultant
procedures for dealing with emergencies will therefore
need to be site specifi c. It is important to consider what
could happen in the worst case and to take this into
account when developing procedures.
The Environment Agency suggests a checklist of
actions that may be useful when considering the issues
that should infl uence the development of comprehensive
emergency procedures. Any such checklist should
include such items as:
➤ The site fi re fi ghting strategy as agreed with the Fire
and Rescue Service. If ‘controlled burn’ is an agreed
option, this should be clearly stated
➤ The method of alerting nearby properties, downstream
abstractors or environmentally sensitive sites
that could be affected by an incident
➤ A quantifi cation of the consequences of an incident
at nearby properties
➤ The methods whereby staff on site and, where
appropriate, adjacent sites are alerted to an incident
➤ The detailed arrangements for contacting the relevant
emergency services, relevant agency, local
authority and other organisations, and dealing with
the media
➤ Any substances that may present particular risks
(these should be recorded in the incident response
plan)
➤ The provision and management of any relevant PPE
➤ Arrangements in place for making leaking contain -
ers safe
➤ Procedures for containing leaks, spills and fi re fi ghting
run-off and for the protection of any on-site
effl uent treatment plant
➤ The requirement for spill kits, drain blockers and
other pollution control equipment and the operation
of pollution control devices should be clearly
documented
➤ Stocks of pollution control equipment and materials
held locally by other organisations should be identifi
ed and contact details for clean-up companies
should be kept up to date
➤ Procedures for the recovery of spilled product and
the safe handling and legal disposal of any wastes
arising from an incident.
13.3.3 Training to support the IRP
The effectiveness of any site incident response plan will
depend on staff training. All staff and contractors working
on site need to be made aware of the plan. They
should be aware of their role if an incident occurs. In
addition to providing awareness training it is important
to provide realistic training, i.e. emergency exercises.
Emergency exercises should be carried out periodically
Environmental impact of fi re
to familiarise staff with the operation of the plan and to
test its effectiveness. Records of staff training should be
maintained.
The subjects that should be included in any training
programme will be, for example:
➤ The potential for harm to both personnel and the
environment from the materials held on site
➤ The sensitivity of the environment surrounding the
facility
➤ The provision and use of the correct PPE
➤ Arrangements for reporting to relevant agencies
if there is a risk of surface, ground water or land
contamination
➤ Procedures for reporting to the local sewer provider
if a discharge to the foul or combined sewer is
involved
➤ Arrangements for clean-up, safe handling and legal
disposal of contaminated materials and wastes
resulting from an incident (including arrangements
for the use of specialist contractors and services)
➤ The appropriate decontamination or legal disposal
of contaminated PPE.
Producing an incident response plan
When preparing IRPs organisations are encouraged to
liaise with their local agency offi ce for their observations.
The fi nished plan should then be copied to all those parties
required to have sight of it. Most importantly a copy
must be kept on site in an easily accessible location
away from the main building such as a gatehouse or a
dedicated ‘fi rebox’ to which the emergency services can
readily gain access. A notice at the site entrance should
be used to indicate the location of the plan.
Finally, in order for the plan to remain effective, it is
vital that it is reviewed regularly and that any signifi cant
Figure 13.5 Training to support the incident response
plan
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