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Small fire occurs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory


LIVERMORE, Calif. – An operational emergency was declared today when a fire broke out at a laser science facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The fire was quickly extinguished.

The emergency was declared at approximately 4:30 p.m. Two Lab engines responded immediately. Mutual aid was requested from the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department to provide additional manpower.

When offsite mutual aid is requested, emergencies are automatically classified as operational emergencies, as part of standard procedure. Both the Department of Energy/NNSA and University of California officials were notified.

Initial investigations reveal the fire began during routine roofing work, on Bldg. 298, a 47,000-square-foot facility. The fire began in an inside wall and only involved less than 50 feet of the building. Employees in the building were quickly evacuated; approximately 35 employees typically work in the building.

A Laboratory employee was taken to ValleyCare Hospital in Pleasanton as a precautionary measure after inhaling smoke from the fire.

The laser science facility contains normal laboratory equipment. The operational emergency was terminated at 6:21 p.m. and recovery efforts are now under way.

Normal operations are expected to resume in the building on Wednesday.

Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a national security laboratory, with a mission to ensure national security and apply science and technology to the important issues of our time. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Laboratory news releases and photos are also available electronically on the World Wide Web of the Internet at URL http://www.llnl.gov/PAO and on UC Newswire.

Nov. 11, 2003

Contact

Susan Houghton
[email protected]
925-422-9919