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Community Safety Forum to present plan to respond to disasters

Posted at 3:07 pm December 2, 2017
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Bill Haslam, Tom Beehan, and Darryl Kerley

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley, right, is pictured above with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, center, and former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan in March 2014. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A safety forum on Wednesday will include a discussion of possible local disasters and how fire departments in the Oak Ridge area could respond.

The fire departments that will participate are the Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fire Department, and Y-12 National Security Complex Fire Department. They will present an overview of the State Fire Mutual Aid Plan and discuss how their fire departments participate in that plan, a press release said.

The speakers will be Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley, ORNL Fire Chief Mike Masters, and Y-12 Fire Chief Scott Vowell. They will discuss the resources they provide to the state by participating in the plan and the benefits to the Oak Ridge community, the press release said.

The Community Safety Forum is titled “Secret City Mutual Aid Plan and What it Means to Oak Ridge.” It’s scheduled from 8 to 10 a.m. Wednesday, December 6, at the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue.

“Effects of natural and manmade disasters have become more frequent, far-reaching, and widespread,” Kerley said in the press release. “We have seen in our neighboring communities that, during a disaster or catastrophe, local government resources and capabilities can be overwhelmed. The State Fire Chief’s Association has been working with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and other organizations to develop and build a method for rapid activation and response of aid to a community in the event of a local disaster.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Police and Fire, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: American Museum of Science and Energy, community safety forum, Darryl Kerley, disasters, emergency responders, fire departments, Jenny Freeman, Mike Masters, natural and manmade disasters, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fire Department, safety forum, Scott Vowell, Secret City Mutual Aid Plan, Y-12 National Security Complex Fire Department

Oak Ridge National Laboratory responded to Gatlinburg fires

Posted at 1:28 pm December 28, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

oak-ridge-national-laboratory-fire-department-in-gatlinburg-incident-command-center-november-2016

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fire Department Chief Officers Daron Long, Larry Lewis, and Danny Parker (in navy polo shirts) are pictured above in the Incident Command Center. (Photo by ORNL)

 

By U.S. Department of Energy

The Great Smoky Mountains, which are normally wet and hazy, had been in a particularly prolonged drought when a fire started near a popular lookout several miles from the resort town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, just before Thanksgiving. Park officials warily watched the slowly spreading blaze, which was in nearly vertical and mostly unreachable terrain.

At the close of the holiday weekend, a weather system moved in, whipping up gale-force winds hours ahead of the rain. The wind supercharged the fire, driving eerie, thick smoke down the basin toward the town. By Monday night, the homes, resorts, and businesses surrounding Gatlinburg were in the middle of a firestorm as flames destroyed structure after structure. Downed power lines sparked separate fires.

On the evening of November 28, park and city officials reached out to firefighters in the region for support as flames engulfed entire neighborhoods. By the time quenching rains arrived, the 17,000-acre forest fire had burned 1,700 structures—many of them homes—and took 14 lives.

Firefighters from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, located about 50 miles away, were among those who answered the call. With an immediate go-ahead from the ORNL Site Office, the ORNL Fire Department, or ORNLFD, dispatched resources to assist responders in Gatlinburg and neighboring Pigeon Forge. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Brian Johnson, Danny Parker, Daron Keesee, Daron Long, David King, Dennis Brock, Doug Eckard, forest fire, Gary Watlington, Gatlinburg, Gatlinburg fires, Great Smoky Mountains, Jeff Chambers, Larry Lewis, Mandy Lindwall, Maria McClelland, Mike Masters, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fire Department, ORNL, ORNL Site Office, ORNLFD, Pigeon Forge, Randy Williams, Ryan Hargis, Shelia Hillard, Tony Bloyd, U.S. Department of Energy

Sunday alarm at waste processing center triggered by smoke from heater

Posted at 9:13 am June 27, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Transuranic Waste Processing Center

A Sunday night alarm at the TRU Waste Processing Center in west Oak Ridge was triggered by smoke from a heater when the power went out during a thunderstorm and a ventilation system shut off. (Photo courtesy DOE Oak Ridge Office)

It was initially believed to be triggered by a small fire, but federal officials now say the Sunday night alarm at a waste processing center in west Oak Ridge was set off by smoke.

A ventilation system shut off when the power went out during a thunderstorm between 5 and 6 p.m. Sunday, and that caused a heater at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center to overheat, said Laura Wilkerson, federal project director in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: alarm, Building 7880, DOE, fire, heater, Highway 95, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fire Department, Oak Ridge Office, ORNL, Room 327, smoke, transuranic waste, Transuranic Waste Processing Center, TRU Waste Processing Center, U.S. Department of Energy, ventilation system, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, waste processing center, Wastren Advantage Inc.

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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