She says it's about making sure the fire service offered in Kent is fit for the challenges of the 21st Century and can cope with major incidents such as the Channel Tunnel fire of 2008.

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The deadliest tunnel-fire incidents happened in 2001 in the 16.9 kilometer-long (10.5 miles) Gotthard tunnel when a crash involving two trucks caused a fire in the tunnel, killing 11 people.

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France and Italy promised better safety checks for road tunnels after at least 40 people died when a lorry caught fire in a tunnel under Mont Blanc .

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"I heard after a while on the public address system that a fire had occurred inside the tunnel and the sprinkler system was going to be activated, " he told Jiji Press.

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In March 1999, one of these, the Mont Blanc tunnel into France, was closed by a fire, which killed 39 people.

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Fire killed at least 11 people, and closed this tunnel too for foreseeable months ahead.

ECONOMIST: Transalpine tunnels