6th International Symposium on Tunnel Safety and Security Under Way in Marseille

The first day of the conference was exciting and many interesting presentations were given. The numbers of participants are 225 from 27 different countries. Everything from advanced mathematics on temperature calculation in tunnels to how dangerous burning tiers can be in tunnels was presented. We were informed that we should not panic because the METRO project measured very high heat release rates in trains. The fire growth rate is the most important parameter to consider said Nick Agnew. There were some tough questions asked after the presentations, some ended at the sideline in the coffebreak as they could not be solved between the presenters and questioners.

The main subject for the first day was fixed firefighting systems, both with large drops and small drops. The size determines how effective they are on cooling the fuel surface or the hot gas around them. One of the keynote presentations gave new definitions of how fire suppression or fire control should be defined and the other some philosophical aspects of tunnel fire safety. The fire dynamics was the second subject discussed and in the other sessions there were presentations on security in tunnels and fire safety engineering.

After the cocktail reception, about 50 delegates went later in the evening to watch a hot smoke test demonstration in one of the Marseille tunnels. This was arranged by Effectis Netherland and some local tunnel operators. In summary this was an exciting and successful first day of the conference. Web; http://www.istss.se/