- Author
-
Webster, H.
- Title
- Development of a Minimum Performance Standard for Hand-Held Fire Extinguishers as a Replacement for Halon 1211 on Civilian Transport Category Aircraft. Final Report.
- Coporate
- Federal Aviation Administration, Atlantic City International Airport, NJ
- Report
-
DOT/FAA/AR-01/37,
August 2002,
41 p.
- Distribution
- FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Aviation Administration, William J. Hughes Technical Center's full-text technical reports page. Website: http://actlibrary.tc.faa.gov FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: FAA Fire Safety Branch/Cabin and Fire Safety Reports Website: http://www.fire.tc.faa.gov/reports/report.stm AVAILABLE FROM: National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. Telephone: 1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000; Fax: 703-605-6900; Rush Service (Telephone Orders Only) 800-553-6847; Website: http://www.ntis.gov
- Keywords
-
halon alternatives
|
standards
|
fire extinguishers
|
halon 1211
|
toxicity
|
ozone
|
transport aircraft
- Identifiers
- Minimum Performance Standard (MPS); hidden fire
- Abstract
- One or more Halon 1211 hand-held fire extinguishers are specified in Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 25.851 as a requirement on transport category aircraft with 31 or more seats. Halon 1211 has been linked to the destruction of the ozone layer and production of new Halon 1211 has been halted per the Montreal Protocol in 1993. The phase out of Halon 1211, as the hand-held firefighting agent of choice, for civilian transport category aircraft has necessitated the development of a Minimum Performance Standard (MPS) to evaluate replacement agents. The purpose of the MPS is to insure that there is no reduction in safety, both in terms of effectiveness in fighting onboard fires and toxicity to the passengers and crew. The MPS specifies two new tests that replacement agents must pass in addition to requiring national certifications such as provided by Underwriters Laboratories. The first test evaluates the flooding characteristics of the agent against a hidden in- flight fire. This test determines the ability of a streaming agent to function as a flooding agent. The second test evaluates the performance of the agent in fighting a terrorist fire scenario and the associated toxicity hazard. This test measures the agents ability to extinguish a triple-seat fire in an aircraft cabin under in-flight conditions and the toxicity characteristics of both the neat agent and the products of decomposition. This MPS will insure that the replacement agents will meet or exceed the performance of Halon 1211 both in fighting fires and maintaining a safe breathing environment in aircraft cabins.