On June 27, there was an accident on the Slovenian northern highway (A1) that took place just at the entrance of the Malečnik tunnel near Maribor. A cargo vehicle quickly caught fire and impacted nearby vehicles.

In the light of the event, researchers from the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute joined forces and wrote an article for the Gradbenik periodical. In the article, they summarize European and Slovenian legislation in the field of fire safety in road tunnels, mention some of the most prominent fires in European and Slovenian road tunnels, describe fire modeling and test methods, and explain the effects of high temperatures on concrete with and without propylene fibers.

The article also emphasizes that fires in tunnels differ from building fires in several ways. The smoke typically spreads faster and can present a significant obstacle for the evacuation, which is more difficult and usually takes longer than in buildings.

The article is available in Slovenian language in magazine Gradbenik, issue 7-8, year 27, and will be online soon. Congratulations to the authors Dr Ulises Rojas-Alva, Dr Ana Mladenović and Dr Aljoša Šajna for their wonderful contributions.