LSS responds to on-site emergencies days, nights and holidays to ensure safety across ORNL
Call 9-1-1 − or 865-576-4LSS – anytime night or day on the ORNL reservation, and someone will respond.
Fires, injuries, accidents, spills, potential security breaches or any suspicious activity – the Laboratory Shift Superintendent’s number is answered 24 hours a day.
But for Laboratory Emergency Response Center Assistant Misty Stout, who spent 25 years at 9-1-1 call center before coming to the LSS six years ago, the nights are manageable. Stout said she averages two calls per shift, compared to 200 or more at her previous job.
“There really isn’t a whole lot of difference between night and day shift,” Stout said. “The main difference would be that fewer people are here, but we still monitor everything, like the alarms and security cameras.”
The LSS manages ORNL’s emergency plan and the Laboratory Emergency Response Center. The LERC activates emergency operations; categorizes and, when possible, mitigates emergencies; dispatches first responders, including the fire department and Pro Force; takes care of on- and off-site notifications to staff when an event occurs; and offers mutual aid and offsite protective action recommendations when needed. Day to day, the LSS also monitors the lab’s alarm systems and the area weather.
During the day, “we stay on the go,” said LSS team member Kevin Ross, going on fire runs, ambulance runs and rescues to secure the scene until an incident commander arrives. “We help the incident commander get the resources needed to get the job done quickly, efficient and safely.”
At night, when most employees are off-site, the LSS has more time for routine tasks: testing the 9-1-1 lines; making note of road closures and new construction to communicate to employees; and making rounds around the lab to put eyes on all buildings and areas.
“We’re here to keep an eye on the place,” Ross said. “We make sure that if something happens, we can provide a quick response.”
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit energy.gov/science. – Hailey Blair and Kristi L. Bumpus