[DOE LETTERHEAD]

October 28, 1999

The Honorable John T. Conway
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20004-2901

Dear Mr. Chairman:

Thank you for your October 5, 1999, letter informing me of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board's concerns about the fire department staffing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Our office plans to lead a review of the fire department staffing needs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory beginning on November 15, 1999. The team performing this review will be led by Mr. Matthew B. Cole, a fire protection engineer in the Office of Science. Team members will be Mr. Dennis Kubicki, a fire protection engineer in the DOE Office of Environment, Safety and Health; Mr. James Landmesser, a fire protection engineer with the Oak Ridge Operations Office; and Mr. Gordon Veerman, Chief of the Argonne National Laboratory Fire Department.

We would welcome staff from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board to observe this review. Upon completion the review, we will provide a copy of the report to you.

Please contact my office if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Martha A. Krebs
Director
Office of Science

cc:
M. Whitaker Jr., S-3.1
C. Huntoon, EM-1
L. Dever, OR