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Alpine tunnels would be safer with built-in sprinkler systems, says Apt
Engineering of Pavia, Italy (EU 1103285). The inventors warn that tunnel fires
are common and that heat and fumes can kill trapped passengers within minutes.
Last year 155 people died on an Austrian ski train in a tunnel in Kaprun. The
plan is to lay pipes along the tunnel wall with fan-shaped jets at regular
intervals. Water is always kept under pressure in the pipes. When fire breaks
out, valves behind and ahead of the danger area are opened to create instant
walls of water, dousing flames and allowing passengers to walk to safety.