Updated: April 28, 2022

Accident!

This time it went well. Sometimes fires occur in road tunnels. In such cases, it is very important that the rescue services and the owner of the tunnel know exactly how to handle the situation in order to safeguard life and health. Every year we train to be prepared to deal with accidents in tunnels. All long road tunnels in Norway are defined as special fire objects and must have their own fire protection manager. The fact that a tunnel is defined as a special fire object means that the tunnel must be equipped with extra safety equipment such as powerful fans to blow smoke in the desired direction, radio communication so that you as a driver can get information over the car's radio, lights and signs showing which direction to move to escape the tunnel, fire extinguishers, emergency telephones, etc. The individual road owner is responsible for equipping road tunnels with safety equipment and preparing an emergency plan for each tunnel. All rescue services provided a large number of resources during this year's exercise, which took place in week 17. The scenario this time was an accident in the Brattheit tunnel eastbound where a car had crashed. Other road users who were the first to arrive at the scene reported two or three severely injured people via the tunnel's emergency telephone. During the call, an explosive fire broke out in the car. Both Bratthei tunnels were immediately closed to traffic by activating barriers and red lights at the tunnel entrances. Road users who were already inside the tunnel where the accident had occurred were given instructions over the car radio on what to do. The fire and police services from Lillesand and Kristiansand responded immediately and were at the scene of the accident after only a short time and started the rescue. It went well this time. The final part of the exercise is a joint evaluation to exchange experiences and make suggestions for improvements. Participants included all the rescue services, the road owner, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, the operation and maintenance contractors, the fire protection manager, the road traffic center and several observers. When an emergency telephone is activated (telephone receiver is lifted off) or a fire extinguisher is removed from the tunnel wall, the emergency services immediately know where you are. Rescue can then be carried out immediately. https://www.vegvesen.no/trafikkinformasjon/trafikksikkerhet/