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Sport Aircraft Builders Club (SABC)


Tips & Tricks - Fire Extinguishers

Thanks to Dawie Botes for finding this information from Chalkie in another club...

Hi Folks,

About two months a go I bought one of the new fire extinguishers which the club has purchased for our use in our hangars. I was not too keen to have a "powder" extinguisher as they make a hell of a mess putting out a fire, but figured a mess was better than fire damage... WRONG...

Here is a bit of info I found in the "Vintage Airplane August 2002" the EAA (USA) Antique publication...

CLASS A-B-C EXTINGUISHERS DAMAGE AIRCRAFT

This information comes from the newsletter of the State of Arkansas Department of Aeronautics. And I quote...

"We are beginning to see an epidemic of Class A-B-C all-purpose fire extinguishers on airport ramps and airport service vehicles, including fuel trucks servicing our aircraft.

This poses a severe aircraft damage problem for all aircraft operators. The A-B-C extinguishers have excellent fire fighting capability, but the monamonium-phosphate chemical agent melts and flows when it comes into contact with heat. This is how it gets it Class A rating. This chemical is highly corrosive to aluminum, and once it contacts hot aluminum and flows down into the structural cracks and crevices. it cannot be washed out in the same way the B-C dry chemical agents can be.

Once an A-B-C extinguisher is used on an airplane, it is necessary disassemble the aircraft piece-by-piece and rivet-by-rivet to accomplish cleanup. Failure to do so will result in destruction of the aircraft by
corrosion.

The purpose of first aid fire protection (fire extinguishers) is to get control of the fire early and minimise the damage. As you can see the use of an A-B-C extinguisher on a small aircraft fire may extinguish the fire, but it still causes as much or more damage than the fire itself. We can save the aircraft from the fire, but lose it to the extinguishing agent.

This is a serious education problem that we as aircraft operators must face. We have had excellent cooperation from the contractors and airport fire departments that have been contacted concerning the problem-once the problem was explained to them. Please pass the word along to your airport operators
and servicing contractors that A-B-C extinguishers should not be located where they might be used on an aircraft. Use B-C extinguishers instead." End quote.

Today I checked the extinguisher in my hangar and it contains "mono amonium phosphte" sounds like the same stuff to me, much like aluminium and aluminum.

My suggestion:

1. Everbody be warned.
2. Contact Chubb to see if this is in fact correct.
3. If correct, change all extinguishers to B-C.
4. Warn others.

I hope this will save somebodies aircraft, one day.

Chalkie Stobbart

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