{"id":15839,"date":"2022-12-15T15:14:05","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T13:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kk-palokonsultti.com\/matinkyla-kivenlahti-section-of-lansimetro-espoo\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T20:35:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:35:04","slug":"matinkyla-kivenlahti-section-of-lansimetro-espoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kk-palokonsultti.com\/en\/matinkyla-kivenlahti-section-of-lansimetro-espoo\/","title":{"rendered":"L\u00e4nsimetro, Matinkyl\u00e4 – Kivenlahti"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The majority of the L\u00e4nsimetro line runs in tunnels excavated underground at a depth of more than twenty meters, so the fire safety design of the metro’s underground facilities is exceptionally demanding. All available information on passenger safety, fire safety and evacuation safety has been utilized in the design, and automated property monitoring and security systems have been extensively used in the solutions to guarantee the safety of passengers.<\/p>

The safest subway in the world<\/h2>

Efforts to minimize the risk of a fire starting and spreading in a subway train speeding through its tunnel have been made beforehand as precisely as possible. Fire safety is taken into account comprehensively in everything, starting with the structural solutions of subway cars. For example, the materials of the carriages have been chosen from low-flammability materials and the interior has as little fire load as possible.<\/p>

In the event of a fire, the metro train is driven to the next station, from which passengers are directed to exit safely. However, if the train has to stop in a tunnel, passengers still do not have to jump onto the rails. A wide exit platform has been built next to the rails to make it easier to get off the train.<\/p>

Smoke extraction and evacuation routes in the tunnels have been thoroughly thought out. While trains in many metros around the world run side by side in the same tunnel, in L\u00e4nsimetro they run in two separate tunnels. The tunnels can be isolated from each other with fire doors, which limit the spread of fire and toxic smoke gases from one tunnel to another.<\/p>

Passengers can access the adjacent tunnel through fire compartmented connecting tunnels. There are connecting tunnels approximately every 150 meters. The distance is based on simulations that have shown that a full train of passengers can be evacuated to safety quickly enough, even from a strong fire, through connecting tunnels placed at this distance from each other. In addition to connecting tunnels, the tunnels can also be exited through the vertical shafts built between the stations.<\/p>

To ensure the operational readiness of the rescue service, the rescue service has been allocated its own water and electricity points and planned its own access routes to stations and tunnels. Communication between rescue authorities and other personnel is handled by the communication service Virve, which is used in rail transport and the metro in the capital region, with which drivers, orderlies, maintenance, the control room, as well as the authorities and the emergency center can quickly contact each other in emergency situations.<\/p>

The underground coverage of the Virve network is good, but in the tunnels, the vital communication of the rescue service personnel is also ensured by landlines. Rail carts are placed at both ends of the stations, with which the rescue service can transport equipment and patients along the track if necessary. <\/p>

Fire safety in metro stations<\/h2>

The fire design of subway stations located on the surface is quite similar to the design of conventional buildings, but several significantly different solutions have been implemented in them as well. Evacuation arrangements and passenger safety were absolutely primary in the design.<\/p>

Escalators equipped with enhanced smoke extraction serve as the primary evacuation routes of the stations. In the event of a fire, the downward moving stairs stop automatically, and the upward moving stairs continue to operate. In addition to the escalators, the world’s first fire-resistant evacuation elevators installed at the stations serve as evacuation routes. As far as we know, similar evacuation elevators for people with reduced mobility are not in use anywhere else.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Escalators serve as the stations' primary evacuation routes. The escalators at Finnoo station are the longest in Finland. The total length of this escalator is 78 meters (photo: Kusti Manninen, Tunne Productions Oy).<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Some metro stations are built in connection with shopping centers. The underground spaces of the stations are designed so that pressurized exits, fire doors and automatic smoke extraction prevent smoke from rising from the platform level to the escalators or the shopping center. All stations have an automatic extinguishing system, which quickly binds the heat produced by the fire and limits the spread of the fire by lowering the temperature of the burning surfaces. In the best case scenario, the extinguishing system may even put out the fire before the rescue services arrive.<\/p>

In addition to fire engineering plans, we have designed e.g. station exit arrangements, exit route guidance and automatic announcements, which speed up evacuation by urging the public to use the nearest exit. We have also designed the principles of the controls given by the fire detectors for various fire engineering systems. The fire alarm system supplied by Siemens is a key part of the metro’s safety, as traffic control and automatic safety and extinguishing systems are linked to the control given by fire detectors.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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KK-Palokonsultti Oy's Satu Holopainen and Kalervo Korpela on an inspection tour at the Kivenlahti metro station platform in the final stages of construction. The ceiling of the station is decorated with a spectacular lights (photo: Jouni Ranta).<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Our services in the project<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The safety of passengers and ensuring the continuity of metro operations in possible fire situations is of paramount importance. Therefore special attention was paid to evacuation safety, enabling the efficient operation and safety of the rescue service personnel, and demanding smoke extraction solutions for underground facilities.<\/p>

The basic principles of fire engineering design were often advanced by applying traditional dimensioning tables, but the most demanding and significant solutions are mainly based on performance-based fire safety design<\/a> and computer simulations<\/a>. There was no need to reinvent the wheel, because most of the solutions applied to the second phase have already been used elsewhere, and they are largely based on the solutions of the first phase. However, there are some deviations. For example, the new stations differed from the type stations defined in the first phase, so many details had to be redesigned.<\/p>

Our services<\/a> in this exceptionally challenging project have included:<\/p>