On 10 April, provincial rescue exercises codenamed “TUNEL S3 2025” were held in tunnels TS-26 and TS-32 and on the section of the S3 expressway between them (Jawor and Wałbrzych counties).
As reported by the Wrocław branch of the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways:
These were the second exercises of this kind organized in road tunnels in Lower Silesia. During the exercises, the services’ capabilities were assessed in conditions as close as possible to those of real accidents. The operation of rescue systems, response times to information about threats, the performance of equipment and procedures, and the coordination of activities at the scene were checked.
Nearly 400 people took part in the exercises: firefighters, medics, police officers, and employees of the Tunnel Management Centre, the Crisis Management Department of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Office, and the Emergency Notification Centre. Road workers: – Although we hope that such situations will never occur in reality, we are ready for any eventuality.
What was the exercise scenario?
Wrocław GDDKiA:
On the same day, three different incidents occurred on the S3 section from the Bolków interchange to the Kamienna Góra Północ interchange.three different incidents.
In the shorter tunnel, a delivery van and a passenger car collided because of excessive speed for the conditions. Smoke coming from the delivery van caused concern. The people travelling in it got out of the vehicle unaided and threw out an unidentified object resembling an explosive device. During their escape, one of them left with a weapon, while the other doused the passengers of the car involved in the collision with an unknown substance.
The perpetrators fled in another vehicle but were eventually detained by police at the Jaczków Zachód MOP. The services found 10 ten-litre containers containing various substances in the vehicle.
It adds: – At the same time, due to black ice, two passenger cars and a minibus collided on the section between the tunnels. More than a dozen people were injured. Unfortunately, because one of the vehicles caught fire, not everyone could be rescued, and it was necessary to identify the victims.
That was not all. The manager:
Although a great deal had already happened on the S3, the services had to deal with one more incident, this time in the longer tunnel. A passenger car suffered an engine failure and, although the driver acted correctly and stopped in the emergency lane, this did not prevent a collision. Due to inattention, another driver travelling in an electric vehicle hit the rear of the broken-down car, ultimately causing the electric vehicle to catch fire.
The Bolesławiec connection
As part of the exercises organized by the Provincial Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Wrocław, the District Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Bolesławiec also took part in this important undertaking—not as a team participating in the exercise, but as referees overseeing the course and assessment of the scenarios carried out.
Representing our command, the following took part in the exercises:
junior brigadier Mateusz Dąbrowa – Deputy District Fire Service Commander in Bolesławiec
senior aspirant Grzegorz Korecki – Deputy Commander of the Specialist Technical Rescue Group.
Photos: Provincial Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Wrocław.