Local motorcyclists still gather once a year, meeting on the Italian side, to pay tribute to the biker known as Spadino. At 10:57 and 10:59, two fire trucks from Chamonix responded to the unfolding disaster. Italian highway network. The fire refuges were greatly improved in the extensive renovation that followed the 1999 fire. The sentence was upheld on appeal. It had been open nearly 35 years without a single fatal incident until the morning of March 24, 1999. Structure: Tunnel: . Temperatures reached 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, and it took a week before the tunnel cooled enough for forensic investigators to reach the bodies. Mont Blanc Tunnel, major Alpine automotive tunnel connecting France and Italy. Two operating companies were founded, each responsible for one half of the tunnel: the French Autoroutes et tunnel du Mont-Blanc (ATMB), founded on 30 April 1958, and the Italian Societ italiana per azioni per il Traforo del Monte Bianco (SITMB), founded on 1 September 1957. He never quite got there. [1] Tinazzi's and Devouassoux's actions were apparently intermingled in subsequent press accounts.[1]. Except for his uniform and motorcycle, he was entirely inconspicuous. March 20, 2023 by archyde. Other motorists were overcome by fumes as they tried to run to safety. He closed the fire door and waited. They were blocked at garage 22 and had also abandoned their vehicles, and searched for trapped groups of firefighters who had taken refuge in the fire cubicles. The middle of the tunnel today looking toward Italy. It has cross-passages every 450 feet so that, in a fire, people can escape through the other tunnel. French police announced last night that as many as 40 trucks . Abstract and Figures. The jet fans kept the tunnel air clear while it was evacuated. Pierlucio Tinazzi (Italian pronunciation:[pjrluto tinattsi]; 27 December 1962 24 March 1999) was an Italian security guard who died while trying to rescue victims of the 1999 Mont Blanc tunnel fire. For each and every one, a non-profit association or event is established. Mont Blanc Tunnel | Description, History, Construction, Fire, & Facts A strong breeze created a blast-furnace effect, igniting the fuel in other abandoned vehicles. The Italians were assisted by a French motorcycle security guard named Patrick Devouassoux, who happened to be on the Italian side when the fire broke out. 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 found in the technical report 05.16B Systems and 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. Defendants in the trial included: The exact cause of the fire is disputed. I suppose a part of me always worried the story was too good to be true. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Mont Blanc Tunnel is not like any other road tunnel: at 11.6 kilometers long, it was the world's longest road tunnel when it opened for traffic on July 19, 1965. Most drivers rolled up their windows and waited for rescue. Tunnel Safety 20 Years after the Mont Blanc Fire - LinkedIn Anyone can read what you share. These remote sites are also used as staging areas, to smooth the peaks of commercial traffic. Many difficulties, including an avalanche that swept the Italian camp in which three workers were killed and more than 30 injured, were overcome during its construction, and, when the tunnel opened in 1965, it was the longest vehicular tunnel in the world. Closed-circuit television cameras were installed every few metres in 1995. PDF Fire Safety in Tunnels - The Concrete Initiative The initial journey through the tunnel was routine. 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. Pierlucio Tinazzi (1962-1999) - Find a Grave Memorial A year after the fire, thousands of bikers gathered at the Italian portal to commemorate him. When built, it was the world's longest road tunnel, linking the French and Italian highway systems and shortening truck routes between. The tunnel is notable for its solution of a difficult ventilation problem and for being the first large rock tunnel to be excavated full-facei.e., with the entire diameter of the tunnel bore drilled and blasted. 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. 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.. He was asked about the security measures that he ordered, or did not order, to be carried out. The Mont-Blanc Tunnel, promoter of safety at international level Mont Blanc and its valleys Territory and open air A cultural crossroads Partnerships History Unitary tunnel management Corporate structure Women and men Important projects and works Details (suppliers, calls for bids, tenders and contracts) Traffic statistics Financial data News The regional newspapers that reported on him in 1999 didnt have online editions; my story, posted a few years later, was the first on the web. I set out to write a biographical sketch of an unlikely hero. Le tunnel du St. Gothard est le plus long (16 920 m), suivi par le tunnel du Mont Blanc et le tunnel des Tauern (11 600 m et 6 400 m respectivement). 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Devouassoux was not riding a motorcycle that day. The tunnel opened to traffic on 19 July. The truth eventually caught up to the legend of a man who rushed in. Others blamed a mechanical or electrical fault, or poor maintenance of the truck's engine. After analyzing the records, he noticed something unusual. [6] Surveillance cameras were installed in 1978. On 24 March 1999, a transport truck caught fire while driving through the Mont Blanc Tunnel between France and Italy. Moments later, the fire melted the wiring for the lights, plunging the tunnel into darkness. The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under the Mont Blanc mountain in the Alps. The Mont Blanc Tunnel opened to traffic in 1965. All of them survived but their commanding officer, who died in a hospital. Maybe like Italian motorcycle magazines, the newspapers quietly started telling the truth about him, without ever admitting the initial error. 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. He appeared to be in his 50s at the time of the fire, so its not certain hes still alive. I should have questioned how Tinazzi managed to operate in the French zone, when fully kitted firemen could not. Regardless, he followed a few other heavy trucks in. As I write this, Ive spent the last week going back over 76 pages of handwritten notes I made on that trip. The Volvo trundled in, on its way to Italy. The Fdration Internationale de Motocyclisme the worldwide governing body for motorcycle sport posthumously awarded him a specially cast solid gold medal for motorcycle merit. Gilbert Degrave, the driver of the truck, received a four-month suspended sentence. In hindsight I should have wondered why none of them included photos, names, or quotes from the people hed saved. Tunnel Fire - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics [2] He was also given a special gold medal by the motorcycle sport governing body Fdration Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Finding any mistake in a published story is deflating. 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). Mont Blanc looming over Lake Leman, in the Swiss Alps. Some lessons learned can be given as examples, such as: However, it is not possible to give generally applicable recommendations on the basis of these findings because these may be different in dependence of the specific conditions of an individual country and an individual tunnel. At least 35 people died in the 1,800-degree inferno that erupted in the Mont Blanc tunnel linking France and Italy . After a long chat over Skype on technical topics, I asked whether he could confirm Tinazzis actions. 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. 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. After a long chat over Skype on technical topics, I asked whether he could confirm Tinazzis actions. [2] Degrave subsequently abandoned his vehicle and ran to the Italian entrance of the tunnel. Grard Roncoli, the head of security at the tunnel, was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail plus an additional two-year suspended sentence, the heaviest sentence levied against any of the defendants. In 2011, there were an average of 5,113 vehicles per day (about 1.87 million vehicles per year). This page was last edited on 19 April 2023, at 12:22. We shall answer you as soon as possible. The fire resulted in million of dollars in damage, thirty-nine deaths, and a three-year closure of the tunnel. [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. Mont Blanc Tunnel - Wikipedia The association writes standards, not laws; its up to the local authorities to adopt them. I set out to write a biographical sketch of an unlikely hero. For the first time, I began to worry. By then tales of Tinazzis bravery had already spread far and wide. [6], Three years later the tunnel was inaugurated by the French president, Charles de Gaulle, and the Italian President, Giuseppe Saragat on 16 July 1965. [7], The tunnel underwent extensive modernisation works in 1990, including the addition of safety features such new video surveillance cameras, 8 pressurized emergency shelters, a sprinkler system and other safety maintenance. That tunnel blaze killed 39 people. A reporter asked for 20 years of lottery winner data. Over the years, there have been a few occasions when complete strangers thanked me for writing, Searching for Spadino. That always made my day. Of course now, Im embarrassed that it took me 14 years to correct the record. Mont-Blanc tunnel fire: what lessons 24 years later? - Archyde The 16 defendants include individuals and companies. I thought about the tunnel story on and off, usually around the anniversary of the fire. 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. Similar information is given in Routes/Roads 324 "A comparative analysis of the Mont-Blanc, Tauern and Gotthard tunnel fires" (Oct. 2004) onp 24. In the Mont Blanc tunnel fire in 1999, for example, over 20 lorries were destroyed, and several people lost their lives. Mont Blanc Tunnel fire (partially found CCTV footage of road tunnel Shortly before 9:00 am . The damage to the tunnel was so severe that it took almost three . I traveled to Val dAosta on my own dime to write a story that I eventually came to call Searching for Spadino.. Having died trying to save another man, Tinazzi was lauded as a hero, buried with honors, and posthumously awarded Italy's Medaglia d'Oro al Valore Civile. Other name(s): Tunnel du Mont-Blanc: Beginning of works: 1957: Completion: 19 July 1965: Status: in use Project Type. Unfortunately, he failed to return from his final visit into the tunnel and himself became a victim of the tragic inferno. This had forced Italian firefighters to retreat, and they rescued 12 people from Italian side. He could have turned back, but he didnt. Safely tunneling the Mont Blanc - DW - 07/17/2015 Their commanding officer died at a nearby hospital. 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. On 24th March, 1999, the Mont Blanc Tunnel fire occurred, with Tinazzi riding into the tunnel in an attempt to save lives on the French side. In the Mont-Blanc fire in March 1999, the asphalt road . 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. The last few drivers who made it into France said the motorcyclist had appeared to be trying to catch up to the burning truck. It was an ordinary truck with ordinary cargo: nine tons of margarine and 12 tons of flour. The region needed a hero, and soon after the fire, the government of Italy honored Mr. Tinazzi with a gold medal for civilian bravery. Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire Extinguished; Toll at 35 677 Mont Blanc Tunnel Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images PDF 3 L Essons Learned From Recent Tunnel Fires - Piarc A MANSLAUGHTER investigation has been launched by French authorities into the horrific blaze in the Mont Blanc tunnel in which 35 died. I wrote a story that became a legend. Then I discovered it wasn't true. greater awareness among users (car and truck drivers) on how to behave in emergency situations. The tunnel passes almost exactly under the summit of the Aiguille du Midi. But he died trying to do so, and local bikers still gather at the tunnel mouth once a year to honor him. After the Mont Blanc report highlighted the French and Italian operators lack of preparedness, the committee made formal emergency response plans and regular training exercises part of the standard. On 24 March 1999, a transport truck caught fire while driving through the Mont Blanc Tunnel between France and Italy.
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