Fire-Fighting and Hazardous-Materials Response Units in the Gotthard Road-Tunnel

Abstract

In the Gotthard tunnel, the transport of hazardous material is limited in quantity. The total amount of hazardous material has nonetheless increased in the last few years. The technical and organizational measures taken to deal with this fact are outlined in the following article. Moreover, problems related to a fire in a tunnel (those that are linked to an incident with chemical substances) will be addressed. Some of the most important findings arising from the fire of October 24, 2001 will be illustrated and some suggestions on how the fire brigade and the hazardous-materials response teams act in such cases will be presented.