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FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEMS

FIRE FIGHTING IN ROAD TUNNELS

SIA – FIRE FIGHTING IN ROAD TUNNELS BROCHURE Rev. 0

 FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEMS
FIRE HAZARDS IN ROAD TUNNELS
Tunnel and road operators are aware of the Fire risk due to a Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) or Dangerous Goods accident.
The mail goals of the fire safety design are:
• Protection of Human Life
• Protection of the structure
• Protection of the Local, National and International Economy by assuring a high level of service.

The installation of a Fixed Fire

Fighting System (FFFS) in a Road
Tunnel solves all these problems,
significantly increasing the social and
economic value of the transport
infrastructure.
A large fire, with or without
Dangerous Goods, can lead to over
100 fatalities, the damage of more
than 1000 m of tunnel and a
consequent closure for two years.
In general, a Risk-Benefit analysis
helps in defining the necessity of a
FFFS. Some typical examples of
FFFS provision are rural one-way
tunnels longer than 5000 m and two-
way tunnels longer than 3000 m,
urban one-way tunnels longer than
3000 m and two-way tunnels longer
than 1000 m, and all underwater and
harbour connecting tunnels.

A Risk-Benefit analysis highlights the huge

advantages of installing a FFFS for certain risky
tunnels such as urban tunnels, long tunnels, two-
way tunnels, high traffic tunnels, underwater
tunnels, strategic tunnels (near harbours or big
industrial areas).

The Capital cost of a FFFS varies from 1000 to 2000

EUR/m of pipe depending on the type of system
(Water-Foam, Low Pressure Water Mist, High
Pressure Water Mist) and on the materials of
construction (Bronze, Steel, Stainless Steel).

The Risk-Benefit Analysis compares the system

cost with the social cost in terms of human lives,
damage recovery and economic losses.

For example, for a long tunnel of 3.000 m with 30.000 vehicles/day, the probability of a huge fire is around 1:500 per year.

• considering a human life cost of EUR 1.000.000 and 30 fatalities, the total cost would be 60.000 EUR per year

• considering the damage repair of 1000 m of tunnel with a cost of 25.000 EUR/m, the cost would be 50.000 EUR/m per year.

• considering 10 EUR per vehicle of losses and an interruption of one year, the total cost would be 220.000 EUR per year.

The overall cost would be around 330.000 EUR per year, 6.6 MEUR for 20 years and 16.5 MEUR for 50 years.
The FFFS cost varies from 6 MEUR to 10 MEUR therefore it is well justified, referring to the Risk-Benefit analysis.

SIA – FIRE FIGHTING IN ROAD TUNNELS BROCHURE Rev. 0 1

 FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEMS
FIRE HAZARDS IN ROAD TUNNELS

Smoke
stratification
Wall
Nozzles

Sidewalk
Nozzles

A good system starts from a good engineering analysis and design that shall be tailored on the specific tunnel features and risks.
The performance of the extinguishing and mitigation systems is determined by:
• positioning along the tunnel (length of the intervention area, installation height)
• delivery features of the nozzles (discharge coefficient, jet profile, operating pressure, droplet size)
• design flow rate and discharge density
• chemical-physical properties of the extinguishing agent (specific weight, freezing point, foam solution, degree of expansion,
drainage time, environmental compatibility).

The FFFS must be tested in real conditions in a test facility before the installation and the installed system must verified in operating
conditions together with the ventilation system performances.

Specific management procedures shell be developed according to local standards and best practices.
The Fire detection system performances are crucial for the effectiveness of the whole system in terms of:

• detection and activation times

• false alarms recognition
• fire location and zone activation
• airspeed influence evaluation.

SIA – FIRE FIGHTING IN ROAD TUNNELS BROCHURE Rev. 0 2

 FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEMS
WHO WE ARE COMPANY ORGANIZATION
SIA is an international company operating in the firefighting
and detection industry. We offer complete engineering,
project management, customized production and assembly,
installation and maintenance services for Fire Extinguishing Quality Assurance & Control
and Fire & Gas Detection systems.
Project Management
SIA management team has more than 30 years of diversified
experience operating as system integrators, providing its Engineering
customers with engineering solutions, supported by a wide Procurement
range of products and downstream services.
Production & Installation
R&D and Testing Supervision
SIA’s Quality Assurance and Quality Control management,
throughout the entire project development from bid to final Commissioning & Start-up
product acceptance tests, ensure the highest standards of
Site Training
design and construction required in the Power Generation
Industry. After-Sale
With its Quality & Environmental Policy and strategic
direction, SIA is committed to meet all applicable
requirements of its customers and international standards
such as ISO 9001:2015, as well as to continually improve.

SIA – FIRE FIGHTING IN ROAD TUNNELS BROCHURE Rev. 0 3