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Barnton Tunnel closed


Derek Porteous

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CRT have issued an update stating the tunnel is now open 

 

Notice Alert

Trent & Mersey Canal
Location: Barnton Tunnel, Trent & Mersey Canal
Starts At: Barnton Tunnel
Ends At: Barnton Tunnel

Tuesday 15 September 2020 10:00 until Tuesday 15 September 2020 14:00

Type: Navigation Closure
Reason: Information


 

Update on 15/09/2020:

We are pleased to advise navigation has resumed at Barnton Tunnel on the Trent & Mersey Canal.

 

 

Original message:

 

Please be advised navigation is closed at Barnton Tunnel on the Trent & Mersey Canal due to a boat incident.

An update will be provided this afternoon.

You can view this notice and its map online here:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/18349/barnton-tunnel-trent-and-mersey-canal

You can find all notices at the url below:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices


Please do not reply to the email. It has been automatically generated.

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open.php?u=10513099&id=473b297970154bbf9db124ad131b644a


 
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I believe the incident occurred about 3pm. It was reported immediately to CRT (presumably by a third boat attempting to enter the tunnel). CRT attended (not sure when they arrived) and communicated with the two jammed boats by shouting down the tunnel entrance. Just before 6pm, CRT called the fire bridges. They arrived very promptly and evacuated the two gentlemen and dog around 6.30pn.

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1 minute ago, Derek Porteous said:

I believe the incident occurred about 3pm. It was reported immediately to CRT (presumably by a third boat attempting to enter the tunnel). CRT attended (not sure when they arrived) and communicated with the two jammed boats by shouting down the tunnel entrance. Just before 6pm, CRT called the fire bridges. They arrived very promptly and evacuated the two gentlemen and dog around 6.30pn.

 

https://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/news-events/incidents/collision-between-two-boats-in-barnton

 

Date/Time:
14/09/2020 - 17:12

Address:
Tunnel Road, Northwich.

Attendance:
Three fire engines attended from Northwich, Winsford and Runcorn, along with the Water Incident Unit from Warrington.

Details

At around 5.10pm firefighters were called to reports of a collision between two boats in the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Crews were dispatched to the scene and on arrival they found that two forty foot long canal boats had collided in the Barnton Tunnel and had become stuck inside the tunnel.

Firefighters entered the tunnel and rescues the pilots from both barges, along with a dog, and brought them all to safety.

They were then passed to the care of a doctor at the scene who deemed that they had not sustained any injuries as a result of the collision. The dog was also safe and well.

The scene was then handed to the Canal and River Trust.

Firefighters were in attendance for around one hour and forty minutes.

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1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

image.png.d056e78af3c0e9c5fe9f02d00a957292.png

I my boat had been wedged in the tunnel bow to bow with another, I think I would have been at the stern, pushing it across to one side and then the other, to try and free the bows. And if the stern of my boat wouldn't move I would try it with the other. I'm pretty sure a bit of heave-ho by the crews involved would have got the boats free much quicker than waiting for the fire brigade, then CRT, then RCR.

  • Greenie 1
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15 minutes ago, David Mack said:

I my boat had been wedged in the tunnel bow to bow with another, I think I would have been at the stern, pushing it across to one side and then the other, to try and free the bows. And if the stern of my boat wouldn't move I would try it with the other. I'm pretty sure a bit of heave-ho by the crews involved would have got the boats free much quicker than waiting for the fire brigade, then CRT, then RCR.

 

Yeah, but if you'd bounced your boat off a 40 footer in a tunnel (unlikely, I know) the little one would have popped backwards out of the other end so you wouldn't have been stuck anyway! :D

 

I agree that it shouldn't have taken much rocking, levering and reversing to unstick the two boats, but then you're back to the issue that one of them needs to reverse out of the tunnel.  If either had been prepared to do that yesterday, they wouldn't have got stuck in the first place ...

 

 

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1 hour ago, pearley said:

So, 3 fire engines and a specialist unit. How much did that cost and is anything charged back to the boaters?

It was likely an accident and if you have an accident, even a silly one, the emergency services and any hospital treatments are free of charge, long may it continue.

 

Today we walked past a school bus having a bit of a fire, the driver phoned the fire brigade, I doubt he stopped to think how much it might cost him. A local shop took in all the children, I doubt they expected payment either ?

 

................Dave

  • Greenie 4
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3 hours ago, pearley said:

So, 3 fire engines and a specialist unit. How much did that cost and is anything charged back to the boaters?

The tunnel would be classed as a "high risk" area, plus it is water based, so I see no problem with that turn out. I have no doubt that most of the units were stood down as soon as the situation had been assessed.
No they won't be charged.

2 hours ago, David Mack said:

I my boat had been wedged in the tunnel bow to bow with another, I think I would have been at the stern, pushing it across to one side and then the other, to try and free the bows. And if the stern of my boat wouldn't move I would try it with the other. I'm pretty sure a bit of heave-ho by the crews involved would have got the boats free much quicker than waiting for the fire brigade, then CRT, then RCR.

Considering that both boats seem to have been single manned, where are you going to get the crew from?

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One of our neighbours is a retained firefighter and I've asked him before about proportionate responses to incidents.

 

He explained that it isnt always obvious from the calls that come in what the extent of the emergency is.

 

So they tend to err on the side of caution. If they under deployed crews and equipment make no mistake the ambulance chasing lawyers would be snapping at their heels.

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34 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

Considering that both boats seem to have been single manned, where are you going to get the crew from?

Well there must have been at least two people in there. Whatever the circumstances that led to them getting stuck, they both had a mutual interest in helping to get the boats unstuck.

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3 pumps and a water rescue unit is normal pda to a water based incident, 1 pump with water rescue trained staff to back up the specialist unit and two other pumps as manpower. The first pump in attendance will not necessarily be water rescue trained but the incident may be in their station area. If not needed they can always be returned or re routed but if requested later maybe too late if the incident is a life threatening incident.

  • Greenie 2
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Tunnel not wide enough 'for two'.

 

From Narrowboat world

 

Two narrowboats jammed in tunnel

 PUBLISHED: WEDNESDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2020

TWO narrowboats jammed in a tunnel needed emergency services to rescue the crews..

Each of two narrowboats entered the narrow Barton Tunnel on the Trent & Mersey from opposite ends, struck in the middle at speed and became jammed, Michael Daine reports.

BartonTunnelFire and rescue service

It required the Cheshire Fire Service and a water incident unit to attend and the services of a doctor to confirm that there were no serious injuries to any of the occupants.

The fire people went into the tunnel to confirm that all was safe, then the rescue people entered the tunnel to rescue the two crews and a dog.  It is understood that they were hire boaters, with the crews abandoning their holidays after the traumatic event and returning home.

Not wide enough to pass

Barton Tunnel is just past the Anderton Boat Lift towards the Bridgewater and being on a narrow canal the tunnel is obviously not wide enough for boats to pass.  The tunnel is not controlled by lights but there is a line of sight.

The emergency services were on site for just under two hours, but left the boats to be handled by Canal & River Trust.

 

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