16 July,2026 07:58 AM IST | Mumbai | Eeshanpriya MS
The car that went up in flames in the Coastal Road tunnel on Wednesday. PICS/BY Special Arrangement
While motorists were gripped with panic after a car broke out in flames inside the Coastal Road tunnel around noon on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the structure's disaster management system worked very well, and standard operating procedure was followed, preventing a bigger crisis.
A civic official told mid-day that it took about 20 minutes to douse the fire, and the tunnel was opened to traffic 1.5 hours later. "No structural damage has been caused to the road, and the tunnel's structural integrity is intact," the official stated.
>> The Coastal Road is monitored 24x7 through a specialised Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICC) at Tata
Gardens at Breach Candy
>> This control room also stays in touch with those of the BMC's disaster management department and the Mumbai Fire Brigade
>> Traffic police personnel are also stationed at the ICCC for coordination
>> A public address system is activated to alert citizens and guide them
>> One lane is cleared in crises, so motorists can take U-turns and exit
>> The fire brigade is informed so it can send its quick response vehicle (QRV) for firefighting
According to information from BMC, the tunnel is equipped with comprehensive safety, monitoring, and emergency management systems in line with international tunnel safety standards. It has extensive fire safety and incident management systems such asâ¦
>> Linear Heat Detection System (LHDS), which constantly looks out for abnormal temperature rise. It raises an alarm in the control room through the integrated SCADA monitoring system when anomalies are detected
>> A CCTV-based Video Incident Detection System (VIDS), where cameras are set up at approximately 50-metre intervals along the tunnel, enabling real-time monitoring and detection of smoke, halted vehicles, and accidents
>> A Fire Fighting System (FFS) has been installed with fire hydrant branches at intervals of approximately 100 metres to facilitate quick response by emergency teams
>> Fire protection boards have been installed to protect the tunnel's structural elements from extreme temperatures up to 1200°C
>> Ventilation and smoke management inside the tunnel is achieved through the Saccardo ventilation system, the first such installation in India
Sprinklers do not exist in the coastal road tunnel due to the Saccardo system of ventilation adopted by BMC at the time of construction, as recommended by a Scotland-based consultant. This system is necessary because of the 70-metre-tall basalt rock over the tunnel, making the feasibility of a ventilation shaft impossible.
>> It consists of nozzles for ventilation and airflow
>> These are connected to three fans at either end of the tunnel at Marine Drive and Worli
>> The speed of these fans is automatically linked to the density of smoke in the tunnel
>> During normal times, these fans help clear vehicular combustion buildup
>> It renders a sprinkler system redundant, as water from sprinklers will disperse before it reaches the ground due to the high wind speed of the fans
12.10 pm Time of incident
12.12 pm Time the public address system was activated for stranded commuters
12.25 pm Time QRV reached
12.35 pm Time lanes were cleared
12.44 pm Fire doused
1.30 pm Traffic in tunnel was restored
>> 2 km in length
>> 3 lanes
>> 12.19 metres in diameter.
[popcorn number="2 KM" desc="Length of tunnel" class="Default"]
