What to do if you're stuck in a tunnel during an emergency

When a car caught fire on the Fort Pitt Bridge last week, traffic backed up for miles and bystanders saw the flames from across the city.

After seeing that, Channel 11 wanted to know what you should do if a car catches fire inside the tunnel and you have nowhere to go.

Channel 11 spoke to the driver who acted quickly to get out of the Fort Pitt Tunnel before his car burst into flames.

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"There was white smoke coming off the front of my Subaru, and at that point, I knew I had to get out of the tunnel,” said Tim MacKenzie.

It got us to thinking – what if that fire had happened inside one of the tunnels?

"if there's a fire near you, the first thing you would want to do is get yourself away," said tunnel manager Ben Devore.

But with more than a quarter of a million motorists passing through Pittsburgh tunnels every day, there's a good chance that car fire is going to cause a backup. What if you are stuck?

"At that point, you'll probably see direction from our tunnel staff or first responders on where you should go,” Devore said.

Should you decide to get out and walk, Devore said leave your car keys behind and follow the little green running man signs which will take you to the closest exit.

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To drive home just how high a priority safety is for Devore’s team, Channel 11 got a rare look at the control center inside the Fort Pitt Tunnel.

One side of the room is nothing but tunnel traffic cameras which are watched 24/7.

The center is where temperature, traffic and air flow is constantly monitored. Devore told Channel 11 that, if there's a fire, gigantic ventilation fans which motorists can't see but sit atop the inbound and outbound lanes will kick on and move smoke and fumes out quickly.

"It's not going to fill up like a room would in a building or anything like that,” Devore said. “Our fans are going to kick on and sense the carbon monoxide raised in the tunnel, and once our fire detection goes off, it's going to kick all our fans to 100 percent."

PennDOT says not to leave your car, but if you do decide to leave, leave those car keys behind so tunnel crews can move your car out once the emergency is over.

Cox Media Group