The fire trapped around 40 vehicles in dense and poisonous smoke containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. In 1953, France and Italy agreed to jointly build and operate a motor-vehicle tunnel between Chamonix-Mont Blanc in France and Courmayeur in Italy. Prevention, surveillance and detection, intervention: the principles of safety. The idea of building a tunnel underneath the Mont Blanc to avoid the need for lengthy circumnavigation dates back to the nineteenth century during the heyday of the railway. The region needed a hero, and soon after the fire, the government of Italy honored Mr. Tinazzi with a gold medal for civilian bravery. This page was last edited on 19 April 2023, at 12:22. Then on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, this year, I was commissioned to write a feature for The New York Times, looking back on the fire as the worlds most closely examined road disaster. The ventilation system in the tunnel drove toxic smoke back down the tunnel faster than anyone could run to safety. Nicholas Borghi is a skier, heading from his home in Italy to ski resorts in France. Since then, Mr. Berthier has become a global evangelist for tunnel fire safety. [4] Renovations include computerized detection equipment, extra security bays, a parallel escape shaft and a fire station in the middle of the tunnel complete with double-cabbed fire trucks. According to the National Geographic documentary programme Seconds from Disaster, the fire and smoke appeared at around 10:49. In most of these, human negligence is somehow involved. Victims 11 deaths 5 deaths 155 deaths 12 deaths 39 deaths 5 deaths 2 injured Vehicles damaged 10 cars 23 lorries . He appeared to be trying to catch up to the truck that sparked the catastrophe, witnesses said. Of the initial fifty people trapped by the fire, twelve survived, all of them from the Italian side. Ten tried to escape on foot, but it was too far to fresh air, and they couldnt outrun the toxic fumes. . (It changed tunnel engineering and safety standards around the world, and is still top of mind for civil engineers working on huge tunnel infrastructure projects like the recently opened SR 99 tunnel in Seattle.). Halifax explosion, also called Halifax explosion of 1917 or the Great Halifax Explosion, devastating explosion on December 6, 1917, that occurred when a munitions ship blew up in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Here all trucks are inspected well before the tunnel entrance. The Mont Blanc Tunnel opened to traffic in 1965. an Italian security guard who perished while rescuing survivors of the 1999 Mont Blanc tunnel fire. The tunnel passes almost exactly under the summit of the Aiguille du Midi. The blaze was traumatic for the close-knit Alpine communities of the French Haute-Savoie region and Val dAosta in Italy. The original fire doors on the cubicles were rated to survive for two hours. Resistance to sprinklers in the name of safety has been a recurring theme. Brian Russell, the civil engineer who served as project manager on the S.R. The Mont Blanc tunnel fire March 1999 killed 39 persons, of which most died within 15 min due to intoxication. The Italian company responsible for operating the tunnel, SITMB, paid 13.5 million ($17.5 million US) to a fund for the families of the victims. The fire burned for 50 hours. It includes heat detectors that can locate a fire to within 10 feet, and, as in Miami, a deluge system can dump several tropical rainstorms worth of water into a fire zone, while leaving the rest of the tunnel dry. And my curiosity finally got the better of me. This motorcycle, scooter or moped-related article is a stub. The Italian side of the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The fire burned for fifty-three hours and was estimated to have reached a temperature of 1,000C (1,830F), mainly because of the margarine load in the trailer, equivalent to a 23,000-litre (5,100impgal; 6,100USgal) oil tanker. The US magazine, ran an abridged version the next year. The truck came through the tollbooth at 10:46 CET. . which occurred between 1999 and 2001. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. People think of tunnels as a hole through the ground, he said, but thats not the case anymore. After analyzing the records, he noticed something unusual. Balladur claimed that the catastrophe could be attributed to the fact the tunnel had been divided into two sections operated by two companies (one in France, the other in Italy), which failed to coordinate the situation. but more importantly the blaze made operators and designers of other tunnels re-examine fire risks. At 11:39, another team of firefighters entered the tunnel from the French side but were blocked at the garage 5, 4,800 metres from the truck. 20 another refuge and closed the fire door, which guaranteed safety from a fire for four hours. A group of French firefighters took refuge in one of the new safety zones but one of them died of a heart attack. I suppose I would sympathize with a local reporter who on deadline, in the chaos of those first days conflated events from both ends of the tunnel. At one point, I mentioned that wed never had a fire, and he banged his hand on the table and said, Yet!. For the first time, I began to worry. Under the Mont Blancmountain range is a 11,6 km(around 7.2 miles) long road tunnel, connecting Francewith Italy. Any people in the security bays now have video contact with the control centre, so they can communicate with the people trapped inside and inform them about what is happening in the tunnel more clearly. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mont-Blanc-Tunnel, British Broadcasting Corporation - Mont Blanc tunnel. However, most studies of fire toxicity have been regarding lethality, for . The resulting fire and smoke generated from it led to the deaths of 39 people behind the lorry, including one firefighter, and is considered the worst road tunnel fire ever. When the reports of Tinazzis daring and tragic motorcycle rescue first reached North America, I pitched the biggest US motorcycle magazine, Cycle World, a feature on him, but I never heard back from the editor. The next thing I realized was that information denied to me in 2003 had come out at trial in France in 2005. They plunged into increasingly dense smoke and, after the fire melted the tunnels electrical wiring, total darkness. It was initiated by a heavy goods vehicle which stopped near the middle of the tunnel and immediately burst into flames. He tells me, That legend had been woven by the Italian media before anyone knew exactly what had really happened. Its not clear whether he suspected trouble or thought he was making a routine trip back to the Italian portal. 120 Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 120 MONT BLANC TUNNEL FIRE Premium High Res Photos Browse 120 MONT BLANC TUNNEL FIRE photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. In the chaos just after the blaze, local French and Italian newspapers reported that the biker had raced in and out of the burning tunnel, saving as many as 10 people before dying in one last rescue attempt. A MANSLAUGHTER investigation has been launched by French authorities into the horrific blaze in the Mont Blanc tunnel in which 35 died. TV documentaries were also made concerning the disaster, all distributed worldwide and focusing on either safety aspects or the circumstances that turned what should have been a serious, but controllable incident into a disaster. A detailed description of the Mont Blanc, Tauern and St. Gotthard fires including the original configuration of the tunnels, and a step-by-step guide to the incident, fire progression, and the behaviour of operators, emergency services and users, as well as the lessons to be drawn can be foundinthe technical report 05.16B Systems and equipment for fire and smoke control in road tunnels. Italian firefighters finally reached the epicentre of the blaze yesterday, 48 hours later. On 24th March 1999 a transport truck caught fire while driving through the Mont Blanc tunnel between Italy and France. Reporters wrote background stories about Tinazzi, but had little to go on. The tunnel diverts traffic that used to crawl through downtown. At 10:55, the tunnel employees triggered the fire alarm and stopped any further traffic from entering. YouTube isn't a fan of videos regarding "graphic" content. It had been open nearly 35 years without a single fatal incident until the morning of March 24, 1999. No one could survive downwind, but a small Italian crew was able to get quite close to the fire from the other side. Following a fire in 1999 in which 39 people died, which showed how lack of coordination could hamper the safety of the tunnel, all the operations are managed by a single entity: MBT-EEIG, controlled by both ATMB and SITMB together, through a 5050 shares distribution.[4]. Nearly 2,000 people died and some 9,000 were injured in the disaster, which flattened more than 1 square mile (2.5 square km) of the city of Halifax. [8], On the morning of 24 March 1999, the engine of a Belgian transport truck carrying volatile freight caught fire in the tunnel. I tell people, This is like a building for cars.. Shortly after, the driver realized something was wrong as cars coming in the opposite direction flashed their headlights at him; a glance in his mirrors showed white smoke coming out from under his cabin. The devastating fire led many countries to issue revised safety standards for tunnel design and engineering, including sprinkler systems, emergency response plans, and two-way ventilation systems that can quickly withdraw suffocating smoke. It reopened to car traffic in March 2002 and to trucks and buses in the following months. Others blamed a mechanical or electrical fault, or poor maintenance of the truck's engine. was the first magazine to print it, in 2003. While the legend of the biker was exaggerated, the horror of the fire there 20 years ago and its impact on tunnel safety cannot be overstated.CreditSamuel Zeller for The New York Times. The safety shafts also have clean air flowing through them via vents. After a long chat over Skype on technical topics, I asked whether he could confirm Tinazzis actions. Their commanding officer died at a nearby hospital. The experience gained from the investigation into the fire was one of the principal factors that led to the creation of the French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau.[5]. In the aftermath, major changes were made to the tunnel to improve its safety. [Read the original Times coverage of the 1999 fire at the Mont Blanc Tunnel.]. [2] Degrave subsequently abandoned his vehicle and ran to the Italian entrance of the tunnel. An international survey of major tunnel fires can be found in the technical report 05.16B Systems and equipment for fire and smoke control in road tunnels, Table 2.1 "Serious fires accidents in road tunnels". An investigation found no evidence of a design fault with the truck. ICYMI:WSJreporter explains why he was fired, Fdration Internationale de Motocyclisme. Five hours later and with no time to spare, a rescue crew reached the firemen via a ventilation duct. The judicial inquiry is expected to concentrate on the safety standards of the 34-year- old single-bore tunnel - especially the absence of an escape tunnel and the adequacy of the ventilation system. The tunnel is a single bore two-lane tunnel with the shape of a horseshoe with a 7m wide roadway and two 0.8 walkways on either side. Other vehicles traveling through the tunnel became trapped and firefighters were unable to reach the transport truck. Temperatures reached 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, and it took a week before the tunnel cooled enough for forensic investigators to reach the bodies. At 10:53, the driver of the vehicle, Gilbert Degrave, stopped 6 km into the 11.6 km tunnel, in attempt to fight the fire but he was suddenly forced back when the payload violently combusted. Mr. Connell served as chairman of the associations technical committee on tunnel safety from 2005 until 2015. A Belgian lorry carrying margarine and flour skidded into the tunnel side. It is 11.7 km (7.3 miles) long and crosses under the highest mountain in Europe, Mont Blanc. The interviews I conducted with his sister and a few close friends were heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. We have 44 jet fans that can operate in either direction, so we can suck air away from the fire, so toxins dont affect people in the tunnel.. An emblem for human courage in the face of adversity, and an inspiration for motorcyclists like me, that swept the world in its small way. We shall answer you as soon as possible. At the time of its construction, it was three times longer than any existing highway tunnel.[2]. Sat Mar 27 1999 - 00:00. The Mont Blanc tunnel, opened in 1965, underwent a major three-year renovation after the fire, with computerised detection equipment, extra security bays and a parallel escape shaft. In 2011, there were an average of 5,113 vehicles per day (about 1.87 million vehicles per year). It reads in part: The motorcyclist Pierlucio Tinazzi entered the smoke filled tunnel from the Italian side a number of times and successfully brought out on his motorcycle many motorists whose vehicles had been trapped inside the tunnel. The lessons of the tragedy have guided tunnel design and engineering ever since, including recent American projects like the Port of Miami Tunnel and Seattles new S.R. Only vehicles past the fire on the French side of the tunnel were trapped, while cars on the Italian side of the fire were mostly unaffected. Fires in European tunnels have clearly shown the risks and consequences of tunnel fires with large vehicles. It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via the French Route Nationale 205 and the Italian Traforo T1 (forming the European route E25), in particular the motorways serving Geneva (A40 of France) and Turin (A5 of Italy). The 1999 Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire case uses a time-line approach with discussion of events during each time period. These remote sites are also used as staging areas, to smooth the peaks of commercial traffic. Twenty years ago Sunday, a fire deep inside an Alpine tunnel killed 39 people and turned a motorcycle-riding security guard who worked there into a hero. Also known as: Mont Blanc Vehicular Tunnel, Mount Blanc Tunnel. The driver stopped, about three miles from daylight in both directions, and with a mile of solid rock above him. ChamonixCourmayeur11.68.6 Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. [4] Theyd already made several annual pilgrimages to the tunnel in his honor. But in recent weeks I have realized, with a creeping feeling of unease, that it was wrong. Mont Blanc Tunnel, major Alpine automotive tunnel connecting France and Italy. Mont Blanc looming over Lake Leman, in the Swiss Alps. In all the years since, no reader ever emailed, or phoned, or tweeted a skeptical thought. Devouassoux was not riding a motorcycle that day. In the Mont Blanc tunnel fire in 1999, for example, over 20 lorries were destroyed, and several people lost their lives. It held that title. It has cross-passages every 450 feet so that, in a fire, people can escape through the other tunnel. But I still wondered how so many journalists, beginning with the local papers, and ending with myself, got the facts so wrong. The Fdration Internationale de Motocyclisme the worldwide governing body for motorcycle sport posthumously awarded him a specially cast solid gold medal for motorcycle merit. Otherwise it was conventionally driven from two headings, the Italian and French crews beginning work in 1958 and 1959, respectively, and meeting in August 1962. Unlike long- distance road and rail tunnels built more recently, it has just one bore and two lanes, one each for northbound and southbound traffic. This phase is the terminal phase of victims as a result of the fire. Tracy Connor. The first thing I realized was that the story I wrote in 2003 had gone viral before going viral was really a thing. It would have been the story that led my obituary. On 3/24/1999 the Mont Blanc Tunnel fire occurred when a truck carrying 12 tons of flour and 9 tons of margarine entered the French side of the 7.2-mile tunnel connecting France and Italy in the Alps. 10-trip package: 163.30; Valid for 2 years in addition to the validation month. [1] Tinazzi was in radio contact with the Italian side for over an hour before succumbing to the intense heat, which caused his motorcycle to melt into the pavement. Berthier talked to me about the first Memorial Spadino biker gathering. (I could not immediately reach him for this story. French highway network. Spadino might have seen something, or heard something from one of the drivers exiting the tunnel, that made him suspect that a truck was in trouble. When it was opened it was the worlds longest and deepest road tunnel. Protesters, citing environmental and safety concerns, opposed the tunnels reopening, especially its use by heavy trucks. He entered before there was any formal alert. It passes almost directly under Europes highest peak. He never quite got there. Then on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, this year, I was commissioned to write a feature for, , looking back on the fire as the worlds most closely examined road disaster. The Italian government presented his family with the Medaglia doro al valor civile, a heavy, beautiful medal that is one of the countrys highest honors for civilian bravery. But I never really dug back into it. In less than two hours, the tunnel was reopened to traffic. ), Antoine Chandellier is a French journalist who has reported on the Haute Savoie region for decades. Most drivers rolled up their windows and waited for rescue. There were no casualties. The next morning, digging deeper, I uncovered a 97-page, minute-by-minute account of the fire, produced by, Le Service Rgional de Police Judiciaire de Lyon. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay, Learn how and when to remove this template message, French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau, "The Fire of 1999 - Autoroutes et Tunnel du Mont Blanc", "Case Studies: Historical Fires: Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire, Italy/France", "Infrastructural Fires: Mont Blanc Tunnel, Italy", "Land transport accident investigation bureau (BEA-TT)", "Guilty Verdicts in Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire Trial", "Procs du Mont-Blanc: Grard Roncoli condamn en appel 6 mois de prison ferme", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mont_Blanc_Tunnel_fire&oldid=1150665494, Gilbert Degrave, the Belgian driver of the truck that caught fire in the tunnel, The French and Italian managers of the tunnel, A senior official of the French Ministry of Public Works. Between 10:57 and 11:01, Italian firefighters had come within 300 metres of the truck, with two of them able to proceed to the garage 21. Table 2.1 "Serious fires accidents in road tunnels, Chapter 3 "Lessons learned from recent fires", Routes/Roads 324 "A comparative analysis of the Mont-Blanc, Tauern and Gotthard tunnel fires". Similar information is given in Routes/Roads 324 "A comparative analysis of the Mont-Blanc, Tauern and Gotthard tunnel fires" (Oct. 2004) onp 24. P. Blomqvist, M. Simonson-McNamee, in Fire Toxicity, 2010 Simulated vehicle fire in road tunnel. Following a fire in 1999 in which 39 people died, which showed how lack of coordination could hamper the safety of the tunnel, all the operations are managed by a single entity: MBT-EEIG, controlled by both ATMB and SITMB together, through a 50-50 shares distribution. Closed-circuit television cameras were installed every few metres in 1995. I fell asleep that night increasingly certain that I had gotten. In fact, there had been 16 other truck fires in the tunnel over the previous 35 years, always extinguished on the spot by the drivers. I spent a week seeking out his family, friends, and coworkers and imploring them to talk to me. Direction Italy - France. what happens if you snitch on the cartelmont blanc tunnel fire victims names. As part of my Times research, I spoke to Jean-Marc Berthier, the engineer who reopened the Mont Blanc Tunnel after extensive renovations and safety improvements. The data base used for the calculations are enclosed in Appendix 3 (collisions) and Appendix 4 (fires) respectively. Broadcast on March 20 at 11:15 p.m. on France 3. Thirty-nine people were killed. A control room on the French side of the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under the Mont Blanc mountain in the Alps. But the one thing everyone agreed on was that Spadino loved motorcycles. I got caught on the phrase entered the smoke-filled tunnel from the Italian side, because I knew Tinazzi wasnt on the Italian side. Technical report 05.16B Systems and equipment for fire and smoke control in road tunnels. The central ventilation hangar on the Italian side helps control the air in the tunnel. A sprawling courtroom drama which will apportion blame for the 39 deaths in the Mont Blanc tunnel fire in March 1999, began yesterday in a converted theatre in the Alps. All of the firefighters were rescued five hours later by a third fire crew that responded and reached them via a ventilation duct; of the 15 firefighters who had been trapped, 14 were in serious condition and one (their commanding officer) later died in the hospital. The initial journey through the tunnel was routine. On 24 March 1999, a transport truck caught fire while driving through the Mont Blanc Tunnel between France and Italy. The system proved utterly incapable of pumping in cold air or removing the thick fumes from the burning margarine and flour and the loads of the other blazing trucks, including, it is believed, a tanker containing chlorine. March 27, 1999 5:00am. . Or, he might simply have chosen that moment to make a routine return trip to Italy. They warned in a report that the ventilation system would be hopelessly inadequate if a serious accident happened far from a tunnel mouth. When he climbed out of the cab, flames burst from under the truck, and he leapt back. The Mont Blanc Tunnel opened to traffic in 1965. [11] Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The sentence was upheld on appeal. They were eventually rescued via a ventilation duct. The likelihood of escalation of incidents into major events is low, however the consequences of such incidents can be severe in terms of victims, damage to the structure and impact on the transport economy. Finding any mistake in a published story is deflating. Pierlucio Tinazzi, an Italian security guard who died attempting to rescue a truck driver, was posthumously awarded Italy's Medaglia d'Oro al Valore Civile.[6]. Then I discovered it wasn't true", Italian decoration "Medaglia d'Oro al Valore Civile", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pierlucio_Tinazzi&oldid=1143687156, Dying while trying to rescue survivors of the, This page was last edited on 9 March 2023, at 07:59. In the end, we all believe in the things that help us get through our days. By. The Italian side of the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Their trucks stuck now, the firefighters retreated into two refuges. Between 10:53 and 10:57, the smoke had already covered half a kilometre of the French side. The tunnel operator, Mont Blanc Tunnel and Highway, said about 20 tractor-trailer trucks and 11 cars were destroyed in the blaze. [6] Surveillance cameras were installed in 1978. In 2016, we had Jean-Marc perform a safety review of the Port of Miami Tunnel, Mr. Hodgkins recalls. In Italy, he says, We have a disaster or a deadly happening involving several people every week. [1] [2] The truck came through the tollbooth at 10:46 CET. Searching for Spadino wrong, but lacking real evidence. Reporters described him making four trips into the tunnel, ferrying people out on his motorcycle. It connects the highway systems of France and Italy, and cuts an hour off transport times between Italys industrial north and the rich markets beyond the Alps. [1] A commemorative plaque at the Italian entrance honours his sacrifice. Five tunnel fires, all in Europe, resulted in 72 deaths. The Mont Blanc Tunnel that connects Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via European route E25 through the Alps, was the scene of a fatal fire that took the lives of 38 people on this day in 1999. The fire spread over 34 vehicles and was finally extinguished after 53 hours. A reporter asked for 20 years of lottery winner data. Within 10 minutes most of the victims were dead, 300m of the tunnel was ablaze, trapping 36 vehicles including 25 lorries. THE 2001 GOTTHARD ROAD TUNNEL FIRE With its single tube of 17 km in length, roughly 7 million vehicles per year and an average of 4,000 trucks each working day, the Gotthard road tunnel is undoubtedly overstressed. It is one of the major trans-alpine routes, and up to a third of Italy's freight passed through it, with 766,000 heavy goods vehicles using the tunnel in 1998. On 24 March 1999 a dramatic fire occurred in the Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy. ICYMI:A reporter asked for 20 years of lottery winner data. 40 deaths The second, Into the Flames Fire Underground (aired 2006), revisited the circumstances and showed how new technology in the form of a new type of fire extinguisher could have reduced the scale of the disaster and enabled the fire service to reach and remain in the vicinity to fight the fire. It was an ordinary truck with ordinary cargo: nine tons of margarine and 12 tons of flour. March 24, 1999, 10:54 a.m.: a Belgian truck driver rushes into the Mont-Blanc tunnel, but very quickly, cars flash his headlights. At 10:54, one of the drivers called from refuge 22 to raise the alarm. and the presence of over 400 people in . . A cargo truck carrying flour and margarine caught fire while passing through the tunnel and when the driver stopped . Abstract and Figures. One account reported it to be a cigarette stub carelessly thrown at the truck, which supposedly entered the engine induction snorkel above the cabin, setting the paper air filter on fire. The highway trunk from Aosta to the tunnel on the Italian side was completed in 2007.[12]. When it was realized that the cubicles were offering little protection from the smoke, they began searching for the doors that led to the ventilation duct. Mont Blanc Tunnel re -opens 3 years after tragic fire in Chamonix, France on March 09, 2002. At 11:10 six Chamonix firefighters entered the tunnel, but were blocked at the garage 17, 2700 meters from the truck. Four years later, in 2003, I was living in France. The Mont Blanc Tunnel was originally managed by the two building companies. misbehaviour of car drivers seems to be the most common cause of tunnel incidents and may also cause problems in incident management (like impeding access of emergency services to the site of incident), in case of a fire drivers sometimes try to pass by the vehicle on fire to continue their ride, despite the potential danger caused by fire and smoke, traffic management measures such as closing of a lane (eg. If I Googled Pierlucio Tinazzi with my language preference set to English, the top results linked to my story or follow-up pieces by others. Nothing in the official record suggests his motivation. These catastrophes demonstrated the need for improving preparation for, as well as preventing and mitigating, tunnel incidents. So there was a motorcycle guy who died in the fire, and a motorcycle guy who rescued several people; they just werent the same person.

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