This document aims at providing information rather than recommendations to the various intervention teams-notably fire crews acting in tunnels-especially during fires. Fire-extinguishing techniques which are specific to firemen are not covered here. The document presents intervention objectives, the first of which is to save user lives. It gives brief information about people's survival conditions, and conditions they are faced with. It goes on to examine the various steps of intervention procedures, starting with the initial alarm and its transmission to the intervention teams. The next step is the access to the tunnel. The last step is progression inside the tunnel as far as the event location, and dealing with it. Visual conditions-an essential parameter-are examined for various cases of mastered or non-mastered longitudinal airflow. Various recent intervention technique developments in very special tunnels (Frejus Tunnel and Mont-Blanc Tunnel) are reported on briefly. Lastly the document recommends the implementation of training exercises, sets out their general framework, and presents the Frejus Tunnel training centre for intervention techniques. For the covering abstract see ITRD E135448.
Abstract