Dealing with cabin fires

by Robin Pijnaker CEO - Flame Aviation

28th of August 2018

Why have cabin fires become a ‘fact of life’?

• We carry more and more PED’s (Personal Electronic Devices) into the cabin

• That causes a serious increase of cabin fire incidents.

• It is not a question if your airline will have a cabin fire incident,

but when and how often.

The Top-3 cabin fires are:

1. Smartphone or tablet cracked in between the seats

2. Laptop overheats and ignites

3. (Cheap) power banks or chargers overheat

What are Personal Electronic Devices (PED)?

• Smartphones

• Tablets

• Chargers/power banks

• Laptops

• Headphones

• Drones

• Cameras

• E-readers

etc. etc.

If an average passengers carries two or three of these items, there are easily 500 PED’s on board!

Why do PED’s cause cabin fires? They include lithium-ion batteries.

These are large concentrations of energy.

They can ignite if they get:

- Short-circuited

- Overheated

- Cracked (causes short-circuit)

Examples of cabin fires: Indigo, Galaxy Note 2, September 2016

Examples of cabin fires: China Airlines, Galaxy S6, December 2016

Examples of cabin fires: Alaska Airlines, iPhone-6, March 2016, over the pacific ocean

Examples of cabin fires: KLM, Drone in luggage compartment, March 2015

What are the consequences?

Primary consequences:

Fire

Toxic smoke and fumes

(oxygen masks cannot be selected in case of fire)

Secondary consequences:

Panic

Injury

Exploded head phone,

Australia, March 2017

Does this look familiar?

..or this? However, in an aircraft cabin:

..there is only limited space

..you might be closer to the fire

..and really feel the heat

..there might be obstructions

..smoke may reduce your visibility

..you cannot escape

..there is a buddy to help you

..the fire might be hidden or concealed

..there might be relocations or even panic

..there might be injured passengers

Question: is this training sufficient?

So, it’s time for professional fire training… Objective: make sure cabin crew does have the knowledge, skills and confidence to deal adequately with cabin fires.

1. Training program: theoretical knowledge + practical training

2. Training equipment: realistic cabin environment, real fires, real smoke, etc.

3. Procedures: train all the particular procedures for all types of cabin fires:

open fires, concealed fires, lithium-ion battery fires, etc.

4. Team approach: Train as a team with an attacker, buddy and communicator

5. Scenarios: train all possible scenarios, including:

o Use all equipment available

o Unexpected scenarios: e.g. fire plus a person-on-fire

o Make it realistic!

Immediate and aggressive action..

Discover smoke..

Get equipment immediately..

Personal safety first

Buddy is standby..

Identifying the source of the fire

Communicator informs flight deck

Buddy opens bin just slightly

Close immediately after

Communicating with the flight deck..

• Location of the fire

• Source of the fire

• Severity of the fire, like

o Spreading

o Contained

o Under control

o Extinguished

• Number of fire extinguishers used

• Smoke conditions

• Actions taken

• Any obstructions

• Any associated hazards (e.g. toxic

fumes?)

• Changes in the seating arrangement

Conclusions:

1. All airlines will be exposed to cabin fires, sooner or later.

2. They can be intense and have the potential to be catastrophic

3. Training programs are not always up to date

4. Realistic training equipment is not always available

5. Well-trained cabin crew is able to: • to neutralize the fire threat by immediate and resolute action

• give the flight crew a clear picture of the situation

• prevent escalation, injury, panic, etc. but maybe also aircraft

diversion

All good reasons to have a closer look at your current fire training!

Thank you for your attention,

23

and many safe flights!