Thirty-nine people died in the Mont Blanc Tunnel fire (March 1999), twelve in the Tauern Tunnel fire in May 1999 and eleven in the Gotthard Tunnel fire in October 2001. The geometry, traffic, ventilation and safety facilities of each tunnel are described. Details are given of the 24-hour control systems in operation in each tunnel. The circumstances of each incident are described with reference to the traffic conditions before and after the fire alarm, the characteristics of the fires, the fire response management by the operators, the environment in the tunnels during the fires, and smoke movement. The lessons learnt from the fires are described. These include the need to locate the fire rapidly, the need for fire fighter training, the importance of users self evacuating on their own in a very short time period.
Abstract