Design Fires in Road Tunnels

Abstract

This synthesis offers information on the state of the practice of design fires in road tunnels, focusing on tunnel fire dynamics and the means of fire management for design guidance. Information is derived from a literature review and a survey of U.S. and international transportation agencies and tunnel owners and reports on their experience with tunnel fire life safety systems such a ventilation and fire protection and detection. Extensive appendices offer more details about tunnel safety projects, fire tests, and national and international standards requirements, as well as past tunnel fire descriptions. Basic information is provided for tunnel operators, first responders, and tunnel agencies to better understand their tunnels and train their personnel. It includes statistical data for fire incidents in road tunnels since 1949 through the last decade, as well as statistical data documents for several tunnel fire safety projects that have been established and accomplished in the United States and Europe. Survey data were also solicited about agencies' experiences regarding problems with systems, gaps in current knowledge, and what improvements agencies would like to see made. Worldwide, a total of 15 agencies reported on their experiences with 319 tunnels yielding a 60% national and 100% international response rate. A majority of the respondents expressed interest in a tunnel fire computer simulator, as only research programs using Virtual Fires have been successfully developed and used in Sweden and Austria.