Mitigation of fire hazards

A fire involving one or more vehicles is the most feared incident in a tunnel. Consequently, tunnels are equipped with numerous items of equipment to mitigate such hazards. 

This equipment includes:

• Manual fire extinguishers available to users,
• Ventilation/smoke exhaust systems,
• Fixed fire-suppression systems.

In addition to this equipment, there are often specific requirements in terms of:

• The reaction to fire of the materials used in the part of the tunnel open to traffic,
• The fire resistance of structures,
• The fire resistance of equipment in the tunnel.