EmergencyNet News Service (ENN tm)
Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/06/96 - 12:00CST

EUROTUNNEL EMERGENCY DRILL CALLED A "CHARADE"
By Steve Macko, ENN Editor

Chicago, IL, December 6, 1996 (ENN) -- A "full-scale emergency drill" that was staged last Sunday by the operators of the Channel Tunnel, that runs between England and France, has been called "a meaningless charade" by some members of the British Parliament and experts in emergency response.

The Channel Tunnel runs underneath the English Channel between Great Britain and France. The drill was an attempt to convince safety officials that it was safe to re-open the tunnel after a serious fire on a truck destroyed a freight shuttle train and heavily damaged a section of the tunnel on 18 November. And apparently, the ploy worked, because the Eurotunnel was re-opened on Wednesday.

"It (The safety authority) is now satisfied that the necessary safety equipment is available and that revised operating and
emergency procedures are in place," said Eddie Ryder, who is the head of the British delegation for the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority.

One member of the British Parliament accused the operators of the tunnel of putting profits before safety and said that the
exercise did little to convince the public that the tunnel was safe. The complaint against the drill was that fire, EMS and
police crews did not take part in the exercise that tested evacuation procedures.

British MP Roger Gale said, "I would regard any exercise taking place with the approval and participation of the Kent Fire
Brigade as satisfactory, but any other exercise as meaningless." The simulation took place at the same position as the recent fire. About 700 people were evacuated through the service tunnel which runs between the two railway tracks that run in the Eurotunnel.

"It seems to me that it is something of a charade," said Gale. "The conditions are wholly unrealistic. They are saying they are going to practice their safety procedures, but without fire or the emergency services. They know exactly what is going to happen. The problem two weeks ago was that people were evacuated, but they were lying on the floor choking."

"It's ludicrous if they think that they can hold a legitimate emergency drill without the participation of the fire and EMS
services," said Clark Staten, the executive director of the Chicago-based Emergency Response and Research Institute. Staten is a retired Asst. Chief Paramedic with the Chicago Fire Department, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services.
This Spring, he helped run a plane bombing disaster drill for Fire/Police/EMS responders in the Atlanta area, in anticipation
of the Summer Olympic Games. Staten is an acknowledged expert in the field of disaster response and emergency preparedness, and is in constant demand to speak at various seminars and symposiums on the subject. He also correctly predicted the possibility of a bombing attack at the Olympic Games, prior to their start.

Staten said that he was astonished to hear how the emergency drill in the Eurotunnel was conducted. "It's shameful," he
said. "Without the fire or EMS service, the drill is meaningless. The whole episode sounds political or someone is
putting profits before lives."

"Eurotunnel are just desperate to re-open the tunnel and seem to be putting that before a through investigation of the fire,"
added Roger Gale. "It is all very well wanting to re-open the tunnel, but if it is done too quickly nobody will want to travel
on it for fear of the same thing happening again with more serious consequences."

The Kent Fire Brigade and the Kent Police were not saying much about their exclusion from the drill. A Fire Brigade spokesman would only say, "We were aware of the exercise, but we did not take part." "The exercise was to test evacuation procedures and to show the safety authority how those will work," said a Eurotunnel spokesperson. "The emergency services are not involved in that."

Staten scoffed at that statement. "How can they say that with a straight face?" he asked. "You just can't hold a effective
emergency drill without the participation of the emergency services."

Another Eurotunnel spokesperson reported that the safety exercise had gone "satisfactory."

All of the 700 people taking part in the drill were evacuated successfully from the tunnel within two hours and ten minutes.
That was said to be only five minutes over the target evacuation time of 125 minutes.

The Emergency Response and Research Institute is trying to look into the security of the Eurotunnel, so far without much
success. A main concern is that the tunnel would be an attractive target for terrorists. This is particularly true in the face of current threats from the IRA in England and the GIA in France. If the tunnel authorities are not taking the matter of fire and life safety seriously -- are they not taking the matter of terrorism and security seriously, also? We're not sure.

(c) Emergencynet NEWS Service, 1996 All rights reserved, except as assigned.
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