FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEMS

Hand-held fire extinguishers and extinguishing systems are installed in many aircraft to provide
the flight crew and maintenance personnel with the ability to fight fires while the aircraft is
operating on the ground or in flight. Portable extinguishers are commonly installed in the cockpit
and passenger cabin of many aircraft. More elaborate extinguishing systems are installed in
transport category and corporate airplanes to extinguish fires in the engine, auxiliary power unit,
baggage, and electronic equipment compartments. In addition, many transport category
airplanes have fire-extinguishing systems located in trash receptacles to protect against fires
that may occur in the lavatories of passenger-carrying aircraft.

FIRE-EXTINGUISHING AGENTS
As previously mentioned, the three elements that are needed to support combustion are a
combustible fuel, oxygen, and heat. If any one of these elements is removed, a fire will not burn.
The portable and fixed fire-extinguisher systems used in most aircraft are designed to displace
the oxygen with an inert agent that does not support combustion. The most common types of
aircraft extinguishing agents that are used include carbon dioxide and halogenated
hydrocarbons.
CARBON DIOXIDE
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a colorless, odorless gas that is about one and one-half times heavier
than air. To be used as an extinguishing agent, carbon dioxide must be compressed and
cooled until it becomes a liquid that can be stored in steel cylinders. When released into the
atmosphere, carbon dioxide expands and changes to a gas that cools to a temperature of
about 110. Because of the cooling effect, the water vapor in the air immediately condenses
to form "snow," which causes the CO 2 to appear to settle over the flames and smother them.
However, the fire is actually extinguished by the CO2 displacing the oxygen in the atmosphere,
interrupting the chemical reaction between the fuel and the oxygen. Once the "snow"
warms, it evaporates, leaving almost no residue.
Carbon dioxide is effective on both Class B and Class C fires. A carbon dioxide hand held fire
extinguisher can be used on an electrical fire, provided the discharge horn is constructed of a
nonmetallic material. A metallic horn would tend to transfer an electrical charge back to the fire
extinguisher and to ground through the person holding the extinguisher. In addition, since
carbon dioxide leaves almost no residue, it is well suited for engine intake and carburetor fires.
Furthermore, carbon dioxide is nontoxic and does not promote corrosion. However, if used
improperly, carbon dioxide will dissipate oxygen uptake in the lungs, which can cause physiological problems such as mental confusion and suffocation. Because of its variation in vapor
pressure with temperature, it is necessary to store CO 2 in stronger containers than required for
most other extinguishing agents.
HALOGENATED HYDROCARBONS
A halogen element is one of the group that consists of chlorine, fluorine, bromine, or iodine.
Some hydrocarbons combine with halogens to produce very effective fire-extinguishing agents
that work by excluding oxygen from the fire source and by chemically interfering with the
combustion process. Halogenated hydrocarbon fire-extinguishing agents are most effective on
Class B and C fires but can be used on Class A and D fires as well. However, their effectiveness on
Class A and D fires is somewhat limited.
Halogenated hydrocarbons are numbered according to their chemical formulas with five-digit
Halon numbers, which identify the chemical makeup of the agent. The first digit represents the
number of carbon atoms in the compound molecule; the second digit, the number of fluorine
atoms; the third digit, the number of chlorine atoms; the fourth digit, the number of bromine
atoms; and the fifth digit, the number of iodine atoms, if any. If there is no iodine present the fifth

digit does not appear. For example, bromotrifluoromethane CF3Br is referred to as Halon 1301,
or sometimes by the trade name Freon 132.
Halon 1301 is extremely effective for extinguishing fires in engine compartments of both piston
and turbine powered aircraft and is also considered to be one of the best extinguishing agents for
aircraft interior fires. In engine compartment installations, the Halon 1301 container is
pressurized by compressed nitrogen and is discharged through spray nozzles. Halon 1301 is
also widely used as the agent for portable fire extinguishers.

Halogenated hydrocarbon fire-extinguishing

provide effective fire suppression in aircraft.

agents

Another once-popular agent was methyl bromide (Halon 1001). However, methyl bromide is toxic to
personnel and corrosive to aluminum alloys, magnesium, and zinc. Of all the halogenated
hydrocarbon extinguishing agents, Halon 1301 is the safest to use from the standpoint of toxicity
and corrosion hazards. In small dosage amounts, the gas has a low toxicity, but has similar effects of
depriving oxygen from the lungs. Because of changing regulations and developing environmental
impact data, you should keep abreast of current developments pertaining to the use of halogenated hydrocarbons as fire-extinguishing agents. For example, several studies suggest that
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), such as Halon, damage the ozone layer in the stratosphere, allowing
higher levels of ultraviolet radiation to reach the earth. To reduce damage to the ozone layer, the
Environmental Protection Agency banned the production of CFCs after December 31, 1995.
However, existing stocks of CFCs are still allowed to be used after this date. Several alternatives to
CFCs have recently been developed and will most likely find applications as aviation fireextinguishing agents. For example, DuPont FE-252 has proven to be an acceptable substitute for
Halon 1301 as an extinguishing agent and has no harmful affect on the earth's ozone layer. Other
replacement extinguishing agents being researched include water mist sprays, which have been
proven to be effective in combating many A, B, and C class fires.
As an aviation maintenance technician, it is important to be aware of EPA and FAA regulations governing the use and disposal of CFCs. Improper handling or disposal of halogenated hydrocarbons
can lead to civil and criminal penalties.

FIXED FIRE-EXTINGUISHING SYSTEMS

In an aircraft, it is important that the type of fire-extinguishing system be appropriate for the class
of fire that is likely to occur. There are two basic categories of fixed fire-extinguishing systems:
conventional systems, and high-rate-of-discharge (HRD) systems. Both systems utilize one or
more containers of extinguishing agent and a distribution system that releases the extinguishing
agent through perforated tubing or discharge nozzles. As a general rule, the type of system
installed can be identified by the type of extinguishing agent used. For example, conventional
systems usually employ carbon dioxide as the extinguishing agent while HRD systems typically
utilize halogenated hydrocarbons.

CONVENTIONAL SYSTEMS
The fire-extinguishing installations used in most older aircraft are referred to as conventional
systems. Many of these systems are still used in some aircraft, and are satisfactory for their
intended use. A conventional fire-extinguisher system consists of a cylinder that stores carbon
dioxide under pressure and a remotely controlled valve assembly that distributes the
extinguishing agent.
Carbon dioxide cylinders come in various sizes, are made of stainless steel, and are
typically wrapped with steel wire to make them shatterproof. In addition, the normal gas
storage pressure ranges from 700 to 1,000 psi. Since the freezing point of carbon dioxide is so
low, a storage cylinder does not have to be protected against cold weather. However, cylinders
can discharge prematurely in hot climates. To prevent this, manufacturers sometimes charge a
cylinder with about 200 psi of dry nitrogen before they fill the cylinder with carbon dioxide.
When treated in this manner, most CO2 cylinders are protected against premature discharge up
to 160. The nitrogen also provides additional pressure during normal release of the agent.
Carbon dioxide cylinders are equipped internally with one of three types of siphon tubes. The
cylinders used in aircraft typically utilize either a straight-rigid, or a short-flexible siphon tube.
The type of siphon tube installed in the cylinder is determined by the cylinder's mounting
position.
HIGH-RATE DISCHARGE SYSTEMS
High-rate-of-discharge (HRD) is the term applied to the fire-extinguishing systems found in most
modern turbine engine aircraft. A typical HRD system consists of a container to hold the
extinguishing agent, at least one bonnet assembly, and a series of high-pressure feed lines.
The containers used in an HRD system are typically made of steel and spherically shaped. There
are four sizes commonly in use today, ranging from 224 cubic inches to 945 cubic inches. The
smaller containers generally have two openings, one for the bonnet assembly or operating
head, and the other for a fusible safety plug. The larger containers are usually equipped with
two bonnet assemblies.
Each container is partially filled with an extinguishing agent, such as Halon 1301, and sealed
with a frangible disk. Once sealed, the container is pressurized with dry nitrogen. A container
pressure gauge is provided so you can quickly reference the container pressure. The bonnet
assembly contains an electrically ignited discharge cartridge, or squib, which fires a projectile
into the frangible disk. Once the disk breaks, the pressurized nitrogen forces the extinguishing
agent out of the sphere. A strainer is installed in the bonnet assembly to prevent the broken disk
fragments from getting into the distribution lines.

In a typical HRD container, the extinguishing agent is released by an

electrically actuated explosive that ruptures a frangible disk. Once
broken, the disk fragments collect in a strainer while the
extinguishing agent is directed to the engine nacelle.

As a safety feature, each extinguishing container is equipped with a thermal fuse that melts and
releases the extinguishing agent if the bottle is subjected to high temperatures. If a bottle is
emptied in this way, the extinguishing agent will blow out a red indicator disk as it vents to the
atmosphere. On the other hand, if the bottle is discharged normally, a yellow indicator disk
blows out. Like a conventional system, the indicator disks are visible from the outside of the
fuselage for easy reference.
Two colored indicator disks are visible on the exterior of an aircraft
equipped with CO2 or HRD extinguisher system bottles. If the red disk
is missing, it indicates that the fire bottles have discharged because
the bottle pressure exceeded limits due to thermal heating. If the
yellow disk is missing, it indicates that the bottles were
discharged through activation of the system from the cockpit
controls.

When installed on a multi-engine aircraft, the fire-extinguishing-agent containers are typically

equipped with two firing bonnets. The two discharge ports allow one container to serve both
engines.

A typical extinguishing-agent container on a multi-engine aircraft has

two firing bonnets.

On large, multi-engine aircraft, two extinguishing-agent containers are generally installed, each
with two firing bonnets. This allows twin-engine aircraft to have a dedicated container for each
engine. In addition, the two discharge ports on each bottle provide a means of discharging both
containers into one engine compartment.

A typical high-rate-of discharge

extinguishing system installed
on a twin-engine, turbinepowered aircraft utilizes two
agent containers, each with two
discharge ports. This permits
two applications of
extinguishing agent to any one
engine.