A successful fire-fighting drill was organized today in the tunnel of Sveti Rok on the motorway Zagreb – Split. It included not only the extinction of the fire but also the evacuation of people inside and in front of the tunnel.
The drill counted approximately 60 firefighters from Zadar and Gospić. The main goal of the drill was to check their efficiency and their coordination as part of the safety and rescue system along the motorway, especially in tunnels.
The evacuation of the people in the tunnel was carried out within 27 minutes after the fire had been extinguished which was supposedly the result of a crash between a truck transporting dangerous cargo and another vehicle.
Also simulated was an accident at the northern entrance of the tunnel, which consisted of a fire, caused by a crash between two vehicles. This fire was extinguished within eight minutes.
The State Secretary for Development Zdravko Livaković expressed his satisfaction regarding the whole drill. He stated that it was obvious that all participants were ready to cope with dangerous situations.
Just before the start of the drill, Livaković explained to the journalists that the activities related to providing protection and safety in tunnels, were by far more important than the opening of those objects for traffic.
„According to estimation, at one moment today the tunnel was filled with 1250 people and in case of an incident the danger would have been immense. This drill shows all our efficiency when it comes to coping with complicated situations, allowing us to perform the rescue operations as quickly as possible“, Livaković concluded.
The State Secretary of the Interior Ivcia Buconjić added that the tunnel Sveti Rok had registered a total of 38 traffic accidents, until today. Luckily, those accidents did not have fatal consequences.
The representative of the Ministry of Health said that ambulances were also ready to intervene along the motorway during the upcoming season. According to him, 12 medical teams are ready to reach the site of an accident within 10 minutes.
Also mentioned was the opening of the second tube of the Sveti Rok tunnel. Livaković informed the media that they would analyze that possibility after the year 2008.