Eurotunnel demonstrated the effectiveness of their new SAFE stations during a massive binational safety exercise (BINAT) which took place early Sunday morning.

The annual drill is a full scale, real-time exercise in which the planning and execution of a rescue operation in the channel tunnel is put to the test. This is the 22^nd such drill, and was led this year by the French emergency services.

According to Eurotunnel the exercise, which is estimated to cost as much as €200,000, is the largest of its kind in Europe. One of the main goals of this year’s BINAT was to test the Channel Tunnel’s new SAFE stations – four underground fire fighting stations – which were made operational in the autumn of 2011.

The stations were installed as a response to safety fears following three high-profile fire incidents in the tunnel, the most recent of which was in 2008. In all three cases the fire occurred on board one of Eurotunnel’s freight trains, and the September 2008 fire resulted in the north tunnel being partially closed until February 2009 and cost €60m to repair.

The scenario

This was the exact scenario that the weekend’s exercise was designed to face, with a simulated fire on board a lorry being carried towards the UK. A controlled stop was made, the evacuation of the truck drivers, and the operation of one of the SAFE stations.

The stations detect and pin-point hot spots on a freight shuttle, and following the controlled stop they use an automatic fire suppression system – targeted water vapour – to prevent oxygen access to the fire, helping to extinguish it faster.

There are four SAFE stations in the Channel Tunnel, each 870m long and situated 28km and 42km along each tunnel from the UK portal in Folkestone. This is the middle section of the tunnel, meaning the driver will always have the option of leaving the tunnel or going to a SAFE station, whichever is closest.

Michel Boudoussier, deputy chief executive of Groupe Eurotunnel, said, “Eurotunnel considers the safety of its customers, staff and the goods transported through the Channel Tunnel to be an absolute priority. The construction of the four SAFE stations, whose effectiveness has been demonstrated during this 22nd BINAT, is proof of our ability to innovate and of our desire to constantly improve the quality of our service.”

The exercise involved 150 emergency services personnel from both sides of the tunnel, 30 volunteers, and 15 official observers.