Case study: vehicle fire in a cross-harbour tunnel in Hong Kong

A vehicle fire occurred in a cross-harbour tunnel in Hong Kong in May 2000. In that accident, nobody was hurt, but the traffic was blocked for several hours, leading to huge economic losses. A general description of the fire is reported. Regarding the safety requirements of the tunnel, the performance of the fire fighting systems is reviewed. Fire safety management in that incident is discussed and recommendations are made to the authority for better fire safety management. To improve the outdoor air quality, the Government is trying to replace diesel vehicles with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles. Fire safety aspects of running LPG cars in tunnels are also discussed.