Joint task force procedures tested for tunnel emergency situations.
16 October 2014
A22: "double" accident with injured persons and a fire in the tunnel, however, all goes according to plan.Personnel in action within the time frame and as per the methods provided for. Efficient technological systems.
It is 11.55 pm on a Wednesday night. In the Virgolo tunnel (Bolzano), in a northerly direction, an "operational" vehicle (garbage truck) skids and positions itself sideways along both lanes, blocking the entire carriageway. An oncoming vehicle - due to high speed - is unable to stop and ends up wedged under the garbage truck. It is then hit by another vehicle - in turn rear-ended by a heavy-duty vehicle - and, due to a fuel leakage, this collision results in a fire. There are injured persons displaying pathologies varying in severity, while the smoke starts to spread inside the tunnel. The persons exposed to the fumes, clearly disoriented, show the first symptoms of panic. The vehicles not involved in the accident start forming sizeable queues. And to make matters worse, a second accident takes place just outside the tunnel: a vehicle stationary in the fast lane is hit by a vehicle that is unable to stop in time. Both passengers are seriously injured.
This is the dramatic scenario of a double major accident, one inside the tunnel and another at its entrance, simulated so as to test the joint task force coordinated management procedures in case of emergency, also with the development of a fire inside the tunnel (in compliance with Legislative Decree 264/06 providing for regular drill exercises and high safety standards for tunnels over 500 m in length along the TEN-T EU corridors on Italian territory).
The Virgolo Tunnel, near the city of Bolzano, was the setting for the drill, which is why on Wednesday night the Bolzano sud - Bolzano nord motorway section of the A22 was closed to traffic.
This has represented an all-important testing ground. The aim was not only to test and assess the emergency response plan, but also to assess with the utmost care the organisation and management of the joint efforts across all immediate intervention forces: A22 personnel (CAU, that is the user support centre), Traffic Wardens), COA (motorway operations centre), Traffic police, Fire Brigade, 118 (ambulance service), Civil Defence force, Carabinieri and local Police of Bolzano. Specifically, the following were subject to monitoring: the coordination across the various operations rooms, communication in an emergency situation, the implementation of measures ensuring the safety of the persons present on the scene of the accident, traffic management with alternative routes provided and repercussions on urban traffic in the surrounding area. Last but not least, the functionality of the safety systems in the tunnel was tested, and specifically the fire prevention measures (detection and monitoring), the ventilation system, the automatic shut-off device also referred to as "Water Mist".
An audience made up of technicians, representatives of Bodies and Institutions witnessed the drill from a giant screen positioned under the deck of the Bolzano viaduct.
Besides fulfilling the regulatory requirements, the drill was useful for the active field testing of the intervention procedures in the event of very serious accidents such as the one simulated.
VENUE: the Virgolo tunnel (Bolzano)
The Virgolo Tunnel in the province of Bolzano is 887 m long (spanning from km 81+276 to km 82+163). It is made up of two ducts, one in a northerly direction and the other in a southerly direction. It is equipped with the following lighting systems: artificial lighting, emergency luminous sign system with LED light guides on the kerb and signposts (indication of escape routes with LED road signs), traffic light systems, fire detection and shut-off devices (Water Mist), air monitoring, artificial ventilation, full video surveillance coverage, AID-Automatic Incident Detection systems for the automatic monitoring of emergencies. The following are also present in the tunnel: flammable liquid drainage systems, presence of bypass systems, Splittmastix asphalt (ensuring high durability and resistance) and porcelain enamelled steel wall panels. The technological systems are equipped with remote-controlled and operated devices that communicate with the supervision system of the User Support Centre. Apart from assisting the operators for traffic management and user support purposes, the latter also serves as a Human-Machine-Interface, recording and managing events, alarms and statistical reports.
SCENARIO: two collisions with about twenty motor vehicles and two heavy-duty vehicles involved, a fire outbreak, a number of injured persons with pathologies varying in severity, traffic congestion with the ensuing traffic deviation impacting on urban traffic.
ON-SITE OPERATIONAL INTERVENTION OF: A22 personnel (CAU, that is the user support centre, Traffic Wardens), COA (motorway operations centre), Traffic police, Fire Brigade, 118 (ambulance service), Civil Defence force, Carabinieri and local Police of Bolzano.
OBJECTIVE: To test the procedures for tunnel emergency situations.
It is 11.55 pm on a Wednesday night. In the Virgolo tunnel (Bolzano), in a northerly direction, an "operational" vehicle (garbage truck) skids and positions itself sideways along both lanes, blocking the entire carriageway. An oncoming vehicle - due to high speed - is unable to stop and ends up wedged under the garbage truck. It is then hit by another vehicle - in turn rear-ended by a heavy-duty vehicle - and, due to a fuel leakage, this collision results in a fire. There are injured persons displaying pathologies varying in severity, while the smoke starts to spread inside the tunnel. The persons exposed to the fumes, clearly disoriented, show the first symptoms of panic. The vehicles not involved in the accident start forming sizeable queues. And to make matters worse, a second accident takes place just outside the tunnel: a vehicle stationary in the fast lane is hit by a vehicle that is unable to stop in time. Both passengers are seriously injured.
This is the dramatic scenario of a double major accident, one inside the tunnel and another at its entrance, simulated so as to test the joint task force coordinated management procedures in case of emergency, also with the development of a fire inside the tunnel (in compliance with Legislative Decree 264/06 providing for regular drill exercises and high safety standards for tunnels over 500 m in length along the TEN-T EU corridors on Italian territory).
The Virgolo Tunnel, near the city of Bolzano, was the setting for the drill, which is why on Wednesday night the Bolzano sud - Bolzano nord motorway section of the A22 was closed to traffic.
This has represented an all-important testing ground. The aim was not only to test and assess the emergency response plan, but also to assess with the utmost care the organisation and management of the joint efforts across all immediate intervention forces: A22 personnel (CAU, that is the user support centre), Traffic Wardens), COA (motorway operations centre), Traffic police, Fire Brigade, 118 (ambulance service), Civil Defence force, Carabinieri and local Police of Bolzano. Specifically, the following were subject to monitoring: the coordination across the various operations rooms, communication in an emergency situation, the implementation of measures ensuring the safety of the persons present on the scene of the accident, traffic management with alternative routes provided and repercussions on urban traffic in the surrounding area. Last but not least, the functionality of the safety systems in the tunnel was tested, and specifically the fire prevention measures (detection and monitoring), the ventilation system, the automatic shut-off device also referred to as "Water Mist".
An audience made up of technicians, representatives of Bodies and Institutions witnessed the drill from a giant screen positioned under the deck of the Bolzano viaduct.
Besides fulfilling the regulatory requirements, the drill was useful for the active field testing of the intervention procedures in the event of very serious accidents such as the one simulated.
VENUE: the Virgolo tunnel (Bolzano)
The Virgolo Tunnel in the province of Bolzano is 887 m long (spanning from km 81+276 to km 82+163). It is made up of two ducts, one in a northerly direction and the other in a southerly direction. It is equipped with the following lighting systems: artificial lighting, emergency luminous sign system with LED light guides on the kerb and signposts (indication of escape routes with LED road signs), traffic light systems, fire detection and shut-off devices (Water Mist), air monitoring, artificial ventilation, full video surveillance coverage, AID-Automatic Incident Detection systems for the automatic monitoring of emergencies. The following are also present in the tunnel: flammable liquid drainage systems, presence of bypass systems, Splittmastix asphalt (ensuring high durability and resistance) and porcelain enamelled steel wall panels. The technological systems are equipped with remote-controlled and operated devices that communicate with the supervision system of the User Support Centre. Apart from assisting the operators for traffic management and user support purposes, the latter also serves as a Human-Machine-Interface, recording and managing events, alarms and statistical reports.
SCENARIO: two collisions with about twenty motor vehicles and two heavy-duty vehicles involved, a fire outbreak, a number of injured persons with pathologies varying in severity, traffic congestion with the ensuing traffic deviation impacting on urban traffic.
ON-SITE OPERATIONAL INTERVENTION OF: A22 personnel (CAU, that is the user support centre, Traffic Wardens), COA (motorway operations centre), Traffic police, Fire Brigade, 118 (ambulance service), Civil Defence force, Carabinieri and local Police of Bolzano.
OBJECTIVE: To test the procedures for tunnel emergency situations.