Introduction to Fire Safety Management 370
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Procedures for reporting major accidents or near
misses, particularly those involving failure of protec-
tive measures, and their investigation and follow-up
on the basis of lessons learnt
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Procedures for periodic systematic assessment of
the major accident prevention policy and the effec-
tiveness and suitability of the safety management
system; the documented review of performance of
the policy and safety management system and its
updating by senior management.
15.15.5 Regulations 10–12 – Off-site emergency plan The local authority, in whose area there is an establish-
ment, shall prepare an emergency plan in respect of that
establishment. The off-site emergency plan shall be pre-
pared no later than 6 months (or such longer period, not
exceeding 9 months, as the competent authority may
agree in writing) after:
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The receipt by the local authority of a notice from
the competent authority informing the local authority
of the need to prepare an off-site emergency plan in
respect of the establishment
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The time an on-site emergency plan is required to
be prepared for the establishment pursuant to regu-
lation 9.
Once the plan has been prepared it must be tested and
reviewed every three years.
A person who has prepared an emergency plan
must immediately implement the plan when either a
major accident occurs or when an uncontrolled event
occurs which could reasonably be expected to lead to a
major accident.
A local authority may charge the operator a fee for
performing its functions under the Act.
15.15.6 Regulation 14 – Provision of information to the public The operator of an establishment that comes within the
scope of COMAH must provide any persons mentioned
in the emergency plans with information relating to the
safety measures provided on site and the role they may
play in the event of an emergency.
The operator must also make salient information
available to the public.
The operator must consult the local authority in
whose area the COMAH site is situated but remains
responsible for the accuracy, completeness and form of
the information he supplies.
The information that is provided by the operator must
be reviewed if there is a relevant change of circumstances
or new information or in any case within three years.