Tunnel evacuationSound Beacons Support Safer Tunnel Evacuation
Research conducted as part of the project EvacSound demonstrates that auditory guidance using sound beacons is an effective aid during the evacuation of smoke-filled road tunnels. This is good news. It is a fact that vehicle drivers and passengers cannot normally expect to be rescued by the emergency services during such accidents.
Evacuation research conducted as part of the project EvacSound demonstrates that auditory guidance using sound beacons is an effective aid during the evacuation of smoke-filled road tunnels. This is good news. It is a fact that vehicle drivers and passengers cannot normally expect to be rescued by the emergency services during such accidents.
Researchers at SINTEFhave been testing a so-called auditory guidance system to support evacuations from smoke-filled tunnels following vehicle fires. The project is being conducted under contract for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen) and the company Trafsys, which develops and supplies intelligent transport systems.
“When a fire breaks out, queues will form, vehicles will collide with each other and drive into the tunnel walls. Some will be abandoned in the middle of the road”, says Gunnar Jenssen at SINTEF. “This makes it difficult for the fire and rescue services to provide any assistance. Fire and rescue response times may be up to 30 minutes in the most remote Norwegian tunnels”, he says. Jenssen has worked on tunnel safety issues in a variety of contexts.
A Universal Rescue System Is Key
“The aim of the EvacSound project is to develop a universal and language-neutral system that can be used as a supplement to existing signage and lighting systems”, says Tron Vedul Tronstad, a research scientist at SINTEF, who is heading the project.
Some drivers and passengers may have visual or hearing impairments, or other forms of disability. This is why the scientists have been testing both visual and auditory guidance systems.
“During the fire in the Gudvanga tunnel in 2013, 67 people found themselves trapped by the smoke. More than 60 percent of these were foreign tourists from a number of different countries”, says Jensen.
“If we want to help everyone involved in such a situation, it‘s important to have a language-neutral auditory guidance system. There is no time to play the same emergency announcement in 15 or 20 languages. Time is precious when you’re trying to escape from a tunnel fire”, he says.
