Fire Extinguisher

[Isham]

Maybe a dumb question, but my fire extinguisher was in the right had floor compartment when I got the airplane (not a good place if it is ever needed).  Is there a place or method for it to be mounted somewhere in the cockpit?  I cannot find one in the parts manual.

[GrassStripFlyBoy]

SW?  There is a pocket in the fabric of the passenger seat, lower left side on the back.

[Roger Lee]

Actually the floorboard is a far better location than behind the seat. It's fast access whether you're out fueling or in flight.  As a 30 year retired firefighter I have a little experience with extinguishers.   Three things make the use of an extinguisher work. First the speed at which you can obtain the Ext. and then apply it before flames and heat become an overwhelming problem. In the floorboard it is easily accessible quickly to apply to an inflight cabin fire to keep flames off oy you until you can get on the ground or if you are fueling. The floorboard has no delays in its application. Trying to get behind the other seat in a hurry and panic situation is difficult, you're strapped in, wrong angle and little room to work and made even worse with a passenger onboard pressing the seat even further back. Second is the person's knowledge on how to apply and extinguisher. It should be directed at the base of the flames and as close as you can get. Next since few have any actual extinguisher training you need volume of the extinguishing medium. The majority of people waste the medium. When I replace an existing one I replace it with one with double the extinguishing media. Extinguishers have no real cooling power so fire can often re-ignite right back up. You hit it once and put it out with the least amount of medium as possible to save for the next flair up. Keeping the flames knocked down will help the cooling affect and stop re-ignition.

Number one cause for failed extinguisher use is too small an extinguisher and then improper use.

I put all my clients extinguishers in the pilot floorboard. It can save your plane and maybe your life.

p.s.

A big majority have expired extinguishers. They are usually stamped with an expiration date.

[Isham]

Thank you Roger for the great write up.  What size do you recommend?  I was going to buy a new one anyway.  Which extinguisher/mount do you recommend?

[Tom Baker]

My recommendation is to keep the fire extinguisher in the back of the seat as designed, and add additional in the floor board if desired. Personally I can't reach either of the floor compartments while sitting in the airplane.

[Tip]

Available at Walmart.

 

[Duane Jefts]

Great response Roger and Tom. I keep the one behind the passenger seat and have an additional one in the pilots foot compartment. Both seem easy to reach to me unless flying solo in the right seat, then not so much.

[BravoFoxtrot]

When I replace the Tundra extinguisher in the passenger seatback as Tip showed above, I use some tape to make a pull tab to make it easier to get it out.

A second extinguisher (Halon?) in the floorboard is a good idea.

[AGLyme]

When a plane crashed into the hangar behind my hangar (skidded off the runway down an embankment and smashed into a utility door — the door absorbed the crash and in my opinion saved his life)  this past summer, while Pre-flighting, I ran to the plane and grabbed the CT extinguisher.  As I’m running to the crashed plane I remember holding the extinguisher thinking to myself how tiny it is... and probably useless in a petrol fire.
Thank God there was no fire which was a miracle because there was a tank between the pilot and engine.  And the tank leaked all over the place. Suffice, I’m on the lookout for a reasonably sized extinguisher for the hangar.

[rtk]

I fly a Sportcruiser, but do not have a fire extinguisher from the factory.  i added the Element fire extinguisher to my cockpit.  50 second discharge time, lighter weight, small (size of a road flare), no expiration date.

https://elementfire.com

 

[Roger Lee]

The key to using an extinguisher is to get close, aim at the base of the flames and only use what you need to knock it down and save some because many times it will flare back up and if you dump it all the first time all you get to do the next flare up is watch it burn.

[airhound]

All good comments. But take them a step further, can anyone describe an inflight, at altitude, actual scenario with smoke/fire in the cabin of a CT. How would you get to it behind the closed panel? If there was a fire in the baggage compartment, you or a passenger can aim thru the curtain back there.  But, behind the panel, how do you carefully aim short bursts at the base of the flame? No, like an engine out on takeoff,  I’m thinking it’s time to turn into a Stuka pilot and not problem solve access to the fire, but get it on the ground without ripping the wings off of course. Oh and work through your fire somewhere checklist items on the waaaaay down.  Any real stories out there?

[FlyingMonkey]

I have the goofy Tundra can in the seat pocket, as well as a larger "real" extinguisher on the floor behind the right seat.  I have tested and can get both out in flight.  Fire is scary.

[Anticept]

The fire extinguisher in an aircraft is for small fires in the cabin, to buy extra time to land and lessen smoke buildup.

By no means are they strong enough for anything larger than a small fire.

If you have an engine fire, you turn off the fuel flow, and forward slip to a landing as hard as you can. That means push that rudder pedal to the FLOOR and hard over on the stick without rolling over. The slipping is to keep the fire from obstructing your vision. A hard forward slip can drop you thousands of feet a minute without picking up a lot of speed.

[airhound]

Oh, could you dumb a ‘small fire’ up a little more with an example? Thinking what would the situation be while flying to notice and be able to extinguish a small fire in the cabin of a CT?  At Altitude!

[Anticept]

An electrical fire for example. You'll smell it before you see it.

Or if someone's smoking and they drop it onto carpet.

Basically, the fire extinguishers are big enough to put out stovetop fires.

They are there to give you a few extra minutes for larger or more persistent fires, or stop a small one from spreading. They're not useless, but you're probably not going to put a wreck out with it.