Security exercises in tunnels over 300 meters long this Thursday, 19/11/2021 in Alsace and Ardèche.

The Mont-Blanc Tunnel Fire in 1999

The Mont-Blanc tunnel fire in 1999 claimed the lives of 39 people. The awareness of tunnel risks by public authorities and the public opinion led to the revision of the existing legislation and regulations.

Like classified installations for environmental protection (ICPE), road infrastructures also benefit from crisis management exercises.

Ongoing Crisis Management Exercises

Yesterday, Thursday, November 18, two exercises took place:

Crisis Management Exercise in the Étoile Tunnel, in Strasbourg:

The simulation began at 9 p.m. on Thursday, November 18. This tunnel sees 1800 heavy trucks pass through each day. In 2021, there were 36 vehicle breakdowns and 12 accidents.

Crisis Management Exercise in the Baza Tunnel, in Aubenas, Ardèche

Simulation of a truck accident in the tunnel. The road was closed for 2 hours.

Review of the Crisis Management Exercise in the Ponserand Tunnel, in Savoie, on October 26, 2021

Regulations for Tunnels Longer than 300 meters and 500 meters

The European directive 2004/54/EC, transposed into the law of January 5, 2006, concerns tunnels longer than 500 meters on the Trans-European Road Network (TEN).

Article R118-1-1 of the road code defines 300 meters as the length from which tunnel operation presents a risk to people's safety.

Article R1118-3-8 specifies the obligation of annual exercises organized jointly between the tunnel staff and the intervention services.

The completion of this annual exercise ensures the reliability of the intervention and rescue systems, especially in case of changes in personnel, organizations, or infrastructure modifications.

The National Commission for the Evaluation of Road Structures Safety (CNESOR) also recommends this type of exercise during long-term construction operations, especially due to the multiplicity of actors and other interveners.

Two Types of Exercises: Frame Exercises and Field Exercises

Frame exercises require no special means, nor the closure of structures and traffic. They aim to test the activation of the crisis unit to decrease response times.

Field exercises are full-scale exercises that bring together the Internal Operations Commanders (COI) and Emergency Operations Commanders (COS).

Annual Exercise Participants

Different actors participate in the annual crisis management simulation:

- The tunnel operator

- Fire and rescue services: SDIS / BSPP

- SAMU / SMUR

- Prefectoral services, related to the implementation and monitoring of the ORSEC plan

- The mayor of the concerned municipality

For tunnels longer than 500 meters, the operator must appoint a Safety Officer, validated by the prefecture.

Annual Exercise Objectives

The objectives of the annual exercises can be:

- To evaluate organizational and operational management

- To assess the skills of the different interveners

- To evaluate infrastructures

- To contribute to the continuous improvement process

We will discuss in a future article the regulations of transporting dangerous goods in relation to road tunnels.

CHAVANON Conseil supports shippers and carriers in implementing safety policies and developing safety plans and various protocols: Safety Management

To read other blog articles ...

Bibliography: CETU 

Press: Dauphiné, Strasbourg