LONDON - The Channel Tunnel fire exposed "fundamental weaknesses" in the safety system and was made worse by over-complex emergency procedures and inadequately-trained staff, an official report said yesterday. There was early confusion about the seriousness of the freight shuttle train fire on November 18th last, the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority report added.
The authority made 36 recommendations to ensure there would be no repetition of an incident that led to 30 lorry drivers needing hospital treatment after being trapped in a fume-filled compartment. But it stopped short of recommending that Eurotunnel change the open lattice-sided wagons which carry lorries - a design which fire experts believe contributed to the blaze.
However, it its own report published yesterday, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said these semi-open wagons should be banned. The Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association called for major improvements before freight shuttles trains were allowed to restart through the tunnel.