Fire Protection in the Eurotunnel
Fogtec Water Mist Extinguishing
Technology to Protect "Le Shuttle" Heavy Goods Carrier Trains
Cologne, Germany (ots)
Eurotunnel operators are going to attach still more importance to safety. The first part of the freight trains carrying "piggyback" lorries between Great Britain and France is being provided with water mist fire extinguishing technology from Fogtec Brandschutz. The eight trains, each 800 metres long, will thus dispose of the most up-to-date fire protection system in a European railway tunnel.
18th November 1996: This day marked the beginning of a new era for the Eurotunnel operators. The fire which had started on the cargo platform of a lorry spread over to other vehicles within few minutes long before the French fire brigade could get to the fire after twenty minutes. 60 million GBP had to be paid by the insurance company for both the damage in the tunnel and the loss of earnings. It took about six months to remedy the damage to the tunnel caused by the fire, as cables and electric conduits in the railway tube had been scorched completely over a length of 100 metres, cracks had formed in the concrete roof. Even the rails had been affected.
As a consequence of the heavy fire accident, the tunnel operators decided to develop a system that is capable of fighting a lorry fire immediately after it has started. Only then can the risk of the fire spreading over to other vehicles be minimised and the fire be kept under control until the fire brigade arrives. After a comparatively short time it became evident that the new fire protection system inside the Eurotunnel necessarily had to be a water mist system. Gas extinguishing systems were no option because of the open honeycomb structure of the wagons. The amount of water that would be needed by a conventional deluge system could not be carried on a train.
Detailed press information, Eurotunnel statements, photos and diagrams for downloading are available in the internet: www.fogtec.com
Should you have any questions, feel free to contact our public relations agency:
Weber Projekt GmbH, Anne Weber-Ploemacher, Unterbruch 82, D-47877 Willich, Phone +49-2154-81070, Fax +49-2154-810720, E-Mail: weberprojekt@t-online.de
Contact:
FOGTEC Brandschutz GmbH & Co.KG
Schanzenstrasse 19A
D-51063 Köln (Cologne)
Phone: +49/221-962'23'0
Fax +49/221-962'23'30
E-Mail: contact@fogtec.com
Internet: www.fogtec.com