Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service took part in the exercise

The safety systems of the soon to be commissioned second Tyne Tunnel were put through their paces on Saturday with a full scale mock emergency incident.

The 1.5km long vehicle tunnel – built as part of the £260m New Tyne Crossing project and said to be the first in the UK with built-in water mist suppression – was the site of an emergency exercise designed to test the operating and automated emergency response systems before traffic is switched into the tunnel later this month.

“One of the most exciting features in the new tunnel is a state-of-the-art mist system,” said Peter Hedley, manager at Tyne Tunnels. “This is the first road tunnel in the UK to boast a fixed fire suppression system...”

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, Northumbria Police, North East Ambulance Service and the Hazard Area Response Team all attended the exercise.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service’s group manager, Phil Clark, said:

“For many years Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has promoted the use of sprinklers to protect people from fire in homes and commercial buildings. Through working together with [the project’s partners], we have changed both national and international opinion as to the benefits of using sprinklers in tunnels.

The exercise included a simulated vehicle crash

“Fighting fires in tunnels is one of the most difficult types of incident for the fire service to deal with, due to the heat produced and the lack of access to the fire. The activation of the fire suppression system means that the size of the fire likely to be dealt with is much smaller. This means it is safer for the people using the tunnel and the firefighters. It also means that disruption to tunnel users is minimised.”

Other safety features fitted into the new vehicle tunnel by design and build contractor Bouygues Travaux Publics UK include a separate pedestrian escape passage and an integrated incident monitoring and alert system.