Video-based smoke
and flame detection for tunnels

Fire is a physical and dynamic phenomenon! Fire-protection concepts should consequently be oriented to physics under dynamic boundary conditions. The following article is a presentation held on the 6th International Conference “Traffic and safety in Road Tunnels” from 10 to 12 May 2011 in Hamburg/Germany.

Protective Objectives and Fire-Scenarios

Fire-safety in tunnels has always posed special challenges to planners and tunnel operators. Depending on the length of the tunnel section, it is, as in so many cases, not the flames themselves which present the greatest danger in case of fire, but rather the in most instances lethal fumes and smoke which are generated within seconds, obscure escape routes from the victims‘ view and can kill within minutes. Experience shows that the majority of fire fatalities fall victim not, at least initially, to the fire itself, but to the smoke (Fig. 1).

Safety on...

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