Fire and explosion hazards of alternative fuel vehicles in tunnels
Environmental issues such as climate change and scarcity of resources have forced the development of alternative fuel vehicles. Many incidents involving alternative fuel vehicles have occurred especially in the past decade, most of which referred to compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) and electric battery vehicles. In comparison to traditional vehicles, the fire and explosion hazards for some alternative fuel vehicles are much higher, especially in confined spaces such as tunnels and underground garages. For example, in Salerno, Italy in 2007, a LPG vehicle exploded resulting in a three-story building completely destroyed and 5 other buildings affected. In 2016, at least three CNG explosion incidents occurred in Sweden. The most known could be the bus explosion in Gothenburg, resulting in two firefighters injured. During 2015-2016, at least three CNG bus incidents occurred in the Klaratunneln tunnel in Stockholm, causing major traffic interruptions.