Last night (11/04/2006) a “Cisalpino” pendolino electric unit travelling between Stuttgart and Milan caught fire shortly after leaving Zürich Main Station and came to a halt 4 km inside a 9.4 km long tunnel. The 100+ passengers on board were led to safety by the emergency services and Swiss rail staff and fortunately only three required treatment for smoke inhalation. In addition to the normal emergency road vehicles two Fire and Rescue Trains also attended the incident.
Fire-fighting and Rescue trains have been based at strategic locations throughout the Swiss rail network for many years. The older Fire and rescue trains are hauled to the scene of the incident by diesel locomotives but the latest ones now being delivered are self-propelled.
The new trains consist of an Equipment Vehicle and a Rescue Vehicle, both of which are self-propelled and based on the MPV produced by Windhoff GmbH in Germany. These MPV’s are similar to the ones used by Network Rail in the U.K. for various duties including Rail Head Treatment.
In addition there is an unpowered Fire-Fighting car that remains permanently coupled to the Equipment Vehicle.
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An SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) Fire fighting and Rescue Train at Brig Station in September 2004. The 3-car train is 59 m. long and weighs approx. 234 t. Its 4 diesel engines develop 1250 kW of power and can propel the train at speeds of up to 100 km/h.
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Equipment Car.
The Driving Cab of this vehicle will also normally be used as the control centre for the firefighting operations. The fire fighting monitors on the roof of this vehicle and the Fire fighting car can be controlled remotely from this cab. Foam and water connections are also provided outside the vehicle which enable hoses to be used to attack the fire. A self-protection device is also fitted to the vehicle to provide a water curtain should it be required to enter an area where the fire is burning close to the track. Breathing air bottles are stored in the roof of the vehicle to supply face masks in the driving/control cab and a slight overpressure can also be created in the cab to prevent the ingress of smoke. The onboard compressor can supply 1000 ltrs/min of breathing air at 300 bar pressure in order to replenish the bottles at the end of the operation. The compressor is powered by a 50 kW generator which also feeds the lighting and other electrical systems. The vehicle is driven by two diesel engines that provide approx. 660 kW of power.
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Fire-fighting Car
The unpowered Fire-fighting car is permanently coupled to the Equipment vehicle. It is equipped with a Driving Cab and can also be used as a control vehicle if required. A diesel-driven pump takes water from the 50 m3 stainless steel tank and supplies the roof mounted monitors and the flexible hose connections. This pump is located in a compartment at the opposite end to the driving cab along with the Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) and its associated tank. Breathing air is supplied to the Driving Cab from bottles mounted beneath the vehicle.
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Rescue Vehicle
When the train reaches the incident the Rescue Vehicle can be detached and using its own diesel engines act as a shuttle to evacuate injured persons and other passengers to a safe location. The rescue container is supplied with breathing air from bottles mounted on the roof and can accomodate 9 casualties on stretchers or up to 70 people standing.
John