The Caldecott Tunnel fire was caused by a chain reaction traffic collision involving a gasoline tank truck which killed seven people in the third bore of the Caldecott Tunnel, on California State Route 24 between Oakland and Orinda, California in the United States, just after midnight on April 7, 1982. It is one of the few major tunnel fires involving a highly flammable cargo.
the Caldecott tunnel complex consists four bores side-by-side, each with two lanes of traffic; they are numbered from south to north. At the time of the fire in 1982, there were three bores; the first two bores opened in 1937, the third tunnel opened in 1964, and the fourth tunnel opened in 2013. Bore No. 3, where the fire occurred, was then the northernmost tunnel which was dedicated to westbound traffic traveling from Orinda to Oakland. It has a grade of approximately 4.0%, sloped downhill from the eastern entry portal to the western exit portal.
Events
Initial collisions
At around 12:12 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time), a westbound driver in a 1978 Honda Accord hatchback The Honda struck the left and right curbs protecting the tunnel walls in succession and then stopped in the left-hand (fast) lane almost halfway through the tunnel. The driver got out to inspect the damage. and a Toyota pickup,