Channel Tunnel firefighters to be replaced by private security staff

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Professional fire-fighters who have fought blazes in the Channel Tunnel for the past 18 years are set to be replaced by private security guards.

France 24 reports that a private contractor will take over the French fire brigade that monitors the safety at the Eurotunnel linking England and France, raising safety concerns about the cross-Channel service.

It follows the failure of an agreement between Eurotunnel and the Pas-de-Calais fire service (SDIS) to renew their £2million contract to provide primary emergency cover for the tunnel.

A Eurotunnel spokesman told the Daily Mail they 'regretted' the SDIS decision and added: 'We have never skimped on security and are looking for the best solutions to take over the SDIS work.'

Employees from private security firm Onet will take over the SDIS from the end of November and according to France Info, Onet is recruiting applicants who have first aid certificates, 'composure' and 'ideally' some experience as volunteer fire-fighters.

They will be in charge of 'preventing fires' and 'monitoring rescue equipment' but not putting fires out. Fire-fighting will continue to be carried out by British and French fire authorities.

According to France 24, critics have warned that replacing the French fire crew would have an impact on safety as there are no other fire brigades located within a ten-minute drive from the tunnel and the first ten minutes are crucial in preventing a fire from spreading.

The last major fire in the Channel Tunnel was in September 2008 when a blaze broke out on a Eurotunnel shuttle train carrying lorries and drivers. It lasted 16 hours and the swift action by Calais fire-fighters meant only 14 people out of 32 on the train suffered minor injuries.

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