Tunnel 'safer' after 1996 blaze

By Tanya Gupta
BBC News Online, South East

Metal buckled and concrete fell as ballast in the fire

Channel Tunnel firefighter Trevor Smith finished his shift and went off duty at 1800 GMT on 18 November, 1996 - the night the unthinkable happened.

Four hours later, he refused to believe it when his son came into his bedroom and told him the tunnel was alight.

Temperatures during the fire reached 1,000 degrees centigrade - reporters allowed on site afterwards said the fallen concrete debris was like snow.

"It was as if a lorry had gone in with aggregates," the firefighter said.

I will never forget what I saw and what I smelled Eurotunnel worker

"When concrete is superheated, the stones move around and fall as ballast."

Staff at the tunnel still refer to the fire as "the accident that was never going to happen" - and some have even compared it to the Titanic.

One woman said: "I will never forget what I saw and what I smelled."

Once the fire had been extinguished, debate raged about the tunnel's safety.

Safety report

In May 1997, a report from the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority made 36 safety recommendations and highlighted insufficient training of staff.

And in 1998, an inquiry into the fire said a malicious act was the most likely cause.

Doorways connect the service tunnel with two railway tunnels

Now Eurotunnel staff and emergency teams on site are keen to show off improvements made since.

"We were advised to put certain things into practice - we did more," a spokeswoman said.

"When the tunnel started, it had no history.

"They had a train set - they built it and it started to run.

"The safety systems are something they have learned over time.

"They had safety systems in place but it's now got a history, and if something happens, adjustments can be made.

"It is getting there now."

24-hour patrols

Developments after the fire included more rigorous training, fire simulations and table-top emergency exercises, she said.

Before 1996, a fire detection officer was based in the Fire Equipment Management Centre which is now used as a backup.

Service Tunnel Transport System vehicles are electric-powered are used by police, fire and ambulance crews can drive forwards and backwards cannot turn around carry a special compound to make foam carry standard firefighting equipment have a driver's cab at each end measure 12 x 1.2 metres use a water main in the tunnel

Since the fire, the officer has been based in the Rail Control Centre (RCC) to improve speed of communication and response.

"Firefighters above ground work with what they see," Mr Smith said.

"Down here, it will sink or swim on communications and crews underground are in contact with the RCC for information."

French pompiers and Kent firefighters subcontracted to Eurotunnel run 24-hour patrols in the tunnel.

And each year, an emergency exercise is staged, when the tunnel is closed and all agencies are brought in, and which the English and French lead in turn.

Small incidents are dealt with by fire crews on site who provide a "first level of response".

Train evacuations

In a larger incident, on-site fire crews control evacuations, oversee the safety of the service tunnel between the two railway tunnels and manage communication.

The "second level of response" then comes from Kent Fire and Rescue Service and the French fire brigade.

In the event of a fire, staff would try to keep a burning train moving until it cleared the tunnel, the spokeswoman said.

She said if a train had to be evacuated, passengers go through the service tunnel to a waiting train in the second railway tunnel, to bring them out safely.

Official Eurotunnel statistics on fire call-outs have not been supplied, but firefighters said that last year there were about 300 incidents at the Channel Tunnel, the majority of which were false alarms.