July 20, 2011
If you've seen a few more fire trucks than usual the past few days, you haven't been imagining things. Beginning Monday morning and finishing up today, SLAC Assistant Fire Marshal/Emergency Management Coordinator Lance Lougée has been conducting SLAC tours for firefighters from local organizations such as the Woodside Fire Department [2] and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, better known as Cal Fire [3]. Lougée has been showing off some of the usual SLAC sights such as the Klystron Gallery, but other attractions would not make the cut during a typical tour.
Lougée's tours are intended to familiarize the firefighters with SLAC, its unique environs, and its risks and resources. He's pointed out gates, water supplies, hazards, and internal response capabilities. These special tours have a very important purpose – should a fire break out or a natural disaster strike, these are the people SLAC will turn to for help, in addition to the on-site Palo Alto Fire Department.
"The tours have been wildly successful," Lougée said. In addition to the Klystron Gallery, Lougée has led the groups through the Near Experimental Hall and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, using these locations as "examples of the science."
"Special thanks to SSRL and the good folks at the NEH for allowing us to walk through their facilities," he added. "We're just trying to make this a safer place for everyone."
[4] 
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA | Operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Dept. of Energy Office of Science