Fifty people gathered at Stacey Agnew’s eVENT Space in early August to hear Dr Ricky Carvel deliver his short course on Tunnel Fire Safety. Discussion during the sessions benefitted from the wide diversity of participants who covered all aspects of tunnel fire safety from design through construction, operation, emergency response and investigation.
Delivering nearly 6 hours of material, Ricky fully engaged the audience, who responded with questions, thoughts, and sometimes counterpoints, fulfilling Ricky’s aim of provoking thought on the issues covered. No one snuck out early to the coffee!
Participants reported many highlights that included the exploration of the effect of tunnel ventilation speed on fire behaviour and the observation that liquid fuel spilt on a roadway would burn more slowly and was not such a concern as may have been assumed.
Another reported that they will benefit from learning that there is no “formula” to solving tunnel fire safety issues, but there are tools, knowledge and lessons learned that can greatly assist tunnel fire safety decision making:
“Dr. Ricky’s course gave me an insight in how scientific theories can be applied to real tunnel fire cases, what are the factors to be considered in designing tunnel fire life safety systems and how to challenge those design assumptions as a tunnel asset owner and operator,” said one.
The sold-out attendance and positive feedback showed the thirst is there within tunnel construction and operations for skill building in the area of tunnel fire safety. Event organiser Conrad Stacey was thrilled with how the event went.
“For the day as a whole, just getting that assembly of 50 diverse industry participants to discuss tunnel fire safety, led by Ricky, and chatting at breaks and over a great dinner, was a great thing for the tunnelling industry in Australia,” he said.
ATS events have a great reputation for their informative and pertinent discussions and experiences. Don’t miss the upcoming Mt Coot-tha Quarry Day Experience on August 31st. Sign up today!
