Smoke build-up resulting from hydraulic oil fires in a 5.6m2 tunnel

Fires, in tunnels under construction that result in multiple fatalities are uncommon but foreseeable. Self-rescuers are now obligatory in the UK, for everyone going underground to protect against the effects of smoke. This paper records the results of tests to determine the rate of smoke build-up in a 5.6m² tunnel, containing a mock-up of a typical soft ground TBM, resulting from a hydraulic oil jet fire. The build-up of smoke was very rapid and completely enveloped the TBM mock-up in under 2 minutes.