CARLSBAD, N.M. - DOE has honored a Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) fire protection engineer with its highest award for fire protection.
William “Bernie" Till received the Walter W. Maybee Award earlier this year for the vital role he played in rebuilding WIPP’s fire protection program, following a truck fire and unrelated radiological event in 2014. Without significant fire protection program enhancements, WIPP would not have been able to resume waste emplacement in January.
“Bernie Till certainly deserves this recognition," EM Carlsbad Field Office Manager Todd Shrader said. “His leadership was crucial in the development of the many upgrades to the fire protection program that we have today at WIPP."
Bruce Covert, president and project manager of Nuclear Waste Partnership, WIPP’s management and operations contractor, expressed pride for Till earning the distinction.
“An immense effort was undertaken to improve WIPP’s fire protection program, and he was essential to that effort."
Improvements included major changes to fire hazard analyses, nuclear safety basis documents, and fire safety programmatic controls; installation of underground fire protection systems and vehicle fire suppression systems; and correction of inspection, testing and maintenance of fire protection system deficiencies.
The DOE Fire Safety Committee grants the award to those who embody the ideals of the fire protection community and make significant accomplishments in fire protection engineering and emergency services.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
