Marioff’s HI-FOG system has been selected to provide protection for another major tunnel construction in Europe. In Spain, the Madrid Calle 30 (M30) project is the inner ring road motorway of the city of Madrid. This major project involves several new sections of road and tunnel construction.

At present, the seven dedicated critical tunnel segments of the M30 project are being equipped with an active fire protection system. Five out of these seven segments are being equipped with a HI-FOG water mist system by Marioff. The HI-FOG system design is based on suppression and control of the fire representing the fire load of a heavy goods vehicle. Furthermore, also the main command centre and auxiliary command centre as well as some technical rooms related to the system’s controls are being equipped with a dedicated HI-FOG water mist system by Marioff.

The contract was awarded to Marioff, the world leader in water mist fire protection, by Dragados, which acts as the main contractor for the Calle 30 organisation responsible for the M30 project, and contractors FCC, Acciona and SICE. Petteri Saarinen, President of Marioff, stated that: “The decision by the Calle 30 organisation and contractors to invest in an active fire protection system for the M30 is another major step in setting a new standard for road tunnel safety. It demonstrated the responsible attitude of the Madrid Council, which wanted to raise tunnel fire safety to an appropriate level. Through an extensive investment in full scale fire testing to verify the HI-FOG tunnel safety concept as well as through Marioff’s experience with the A86 tunnel contract awarded to Marioff in Paris, we are very proud to be associated also with this major project in Madrid. The HI-FOG system, combined with the ventilation concept and other safety features designed in the tunnel, will ensure an optimum level of safety for people and the tunnel infrastructure, thus ensuring traffic continuity.”

Marioff’s contract is for the design, manufacture and installation of a fixed HI-FOG water mist fire protection system. The system is divided into sectors throughout the length of the protected tunnel segments. The fire protection technology developed by Marioff was selected after four months of full scale system performance testing and several system design reviews. The company’s references in this sector of activity influenced the choice of the solution.

The HI-FOG safety system under installation in M30 uses patented high pressure technology and dedicated nozzles, which spray very fine droplets of water over uniformly sized tunnel sections. Three predetermined sectors with an innovative HI-FOG hybrid system design will be activated in order to cover a sufficient area around the seat of a fire. The water droplets rapidly absorb the heat, particularly by evaporation, giving very effective cooling. They greatly reduce the amount of smoke produced by a fire, by limiting the development of its rate of heat release. This contributes to safer evacuation of persons present and saves lives during the first critical phases of a fire, and also wins time to allow the arrival of the emergency services that will contain and totally control the fire, and suppresses it.

HI-FOG, composed of millions of fine droplets, is a very effective way of using water to extinguish a fire. This technology was originally developed for combat emergency situations on board ships. In more than 5,000 full scale fire performance tests under operational conditions, conducted over more than a decade, water fog generated by HI-FOG technology has proved extremely effective for extinguishing, suppressing and controlling fires. Compared, for example, to a conventional spraying system, HI-FOG technology uses up to ten times less water, thus increasing the capability of the system to combat big fires, while minimising the risks of spreading fuel around./ins

Illustration 1.

HI-FOG fire protection technology has been tested through full scale fire tests to ensure the system design and performance.
© Marioff Corporation Oy

Illustration 2.

HI-FOG water mist
© Marioff Corporation Oy

Editor’s notes

Fire safety measures in tunnels: active or passive. Most tunnels are currently protected against fires by 'passive' safety measures. This term covers the use of construction materials that slow down the spread of the fire, and safety structures such as special escape tunnels, emergency exits to a neighbouring tunnel or to the surface, and refuges where people can shelter. These types of measures contribute to safety but can prove insufficient during major fires, such as those that occurred in the Mont-Blanc and Gotthard tunnels. This is due to the fact that at very high temperatures, fuel spillage, toxic smoke and other dangers inherent to fires can develop very quickly in confined spaces. These phenomena can, in certain circumstances, kill people who are just a few metres away from an escape route during a fire.

The first 10 to 15 minutes of a tunnel fire are crucial for the protection of human lives and in minimising the material damage. In this context, active firefighting systems that integrate processes such as high pressure water fog spraying represent significant progress. The division of the water into very fine droplets spectacularly increases the surface covered and the rate of absorption of the heat given off by a fire. In a few moments, the temperature a few tens of metres away from the fire drops to 50 °C. Without a firefighting system, it can exceed 1,200 °C.

The consequences of a tunnel fire disaster can be catastrophic. Thirty-nine people were killed in the Mont-Blanc tunnel fire alone.
The A86 West tunnel in Paris is the first large European tunnel project being protected with an active fire protection system. Altogether 24 kilometres of two superposed tunnels and slip roads are currently being installed with Marioff’s HI-FOG water mist fire protection system to protect people, tunnel infrastructure and traffic continuity.

About the Calle 30 (M30) tunnel project. The Madrid Calle 30 (M30) project is the inner ring road motorway of the city of Madrid. The M30 project will refurbish the road and reroute major sections of it through new tunnels. This will allow the above surface areas to be redeveloped into green park areas, footpaths, cycle paths and new housing.

In addition to recovery of the surface areas, the goal of the M30 project is an increase in the traffic capacity of the M30, clean-up of the Manzanares River as well as significant reduction in inter-city travel times. Another main goal is to achieve a major reduction in emissions from 2007 to 2037.

The new sections of road construction will total 99 km, 56 km of which will be in tunnels. Construction started in September 2004 and should be finished by the second quarter of 2007. The total project budget is estimated at €3.7 billion.

About Marioff. More than 15 years ago, Marioff Corporation Oy was the first company to develop HI-FOG water mist fire protection technology. This was initially designed to protect passenger ships, in which it is essential to use the minimum amount of water for fire protection. In addition to saving lives and safeguarding traffic flow, a HI-FOG system protects the structure against major material damage.

Marioff Corporation Oy is a global business, specialised in the production of very high efficiency water fog fire protection systems, designed for the industrial, commercial and infrastructure development sectors. Marioff is also the world leader in the production of fire protection systems for the maritime and offshore sectors. The company has dominated this market since the start of development of water mist systems, and holds more than 1,300 patents. For more information about Marioff, consult www.marioff.com

Marioff press contacts:
Marioff Ltd
Mr Tom Knowles
Acting Managing Director

Aberdeen office, Unit 2, 26 Oldmeldrum Road
Newmachar, Aberdeenshire, AB21 OPJ
Scotland

Tel. (0) 1651 869 100
(0) 1651 863 293
Email: marioff1@btconnect.com

Marioff Corporation Oy Finland contact:

Petteri Saarinen
President

Marioff Corporation Oy
Tel.: +358 9 870 851

E-mail: petteri.saarinen@marioff.fi

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