Fire Suppression System Deployment Incident LHR BA Hangar
 

Just saw on Aeronews:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...27e10dd11.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...812b79724.jpeg

Pictures from Aeronews

It’s quite ironic that this is the 3rd incident with a BA aircraft in a matter of weeks, and they are barely flying :D

Fire Suppression System Malfunctioning at BA Hangar at LHR
 

The video below is from the BA hangar in LHR. Unfortunately, the fire suppression system in the hangar malfunctioned and G-YMMB was there.

How was that a "malfunction"? To me, it seems it functioned correctly, by covering everything with foam. Was someone smoking in the hangar?

Obviously we don't know what the trigger was in this case, but I'd argue in general that if something does its job properly when it's not supposed to, that would indeed be a malfunction.

Impressive pictures though! Interesting that the fuselage looks almost perfectly clean (apart from the jet-bridge outline).

If it’s anything like the fire suppression system in my office it just goes off by itself anyway 🤷🏻‍♀️

(I tell myself it’s triggered by the steam coming out of my ears from having to deal with ....wits)

That is quite impressive, I am guessing it does not take to long to shut off, so I suppose it must have done all that in a very short period of time

I didn't appreciate how much foam has been discharged until I zoomed in on the second photo. It seems to be as deep as the wheels on the parked transit van!

How is that stuff cleaned up? Washed away with water - or like alot of foam based fluids does it slowly just disintegrate?

also is it PFAS/PFOS based and likely to result in a class action down the track, or is that strictly an Australian thing?

Years ago I used to work in tbj and tbk and the link. Where's tech 6? I never heard anyone mention tech 6 in relation to tbj or tbk back then.

Great pic ! It's lots of foam. Glad to see it works well!

No, we had PFOS issues here in Jersey, caused by run-off from the Airport's Fire Service training area. Polluted the ground-water, in an area where many houses rely of wells. Our BiL's house was right in the middle of the 'plume' area.

https://www.jerseyairport.com/PFOS/P...ackground.aspx

Depends if that foam has fluorinated surfactants in it. If it has then it will need to be scooped up and incinerated, the burnt residue is tiny. If it hasn't got fluorine or other nasties in it then the slow discharge into the public sewerage system may be allowed, but it needs to be done to prevent polluting open waterways and closed courses. There will be a well managed drill for this at Heathrow I'm sure, due to the use of foam in training exercises.

Could be a VERY expensive mistake!

After a hangar fire at my airfield, the loss adjuster was telling me about an incident where the foam had gone off accidentally. All the parties involved took so long to discuss what should be done etc that the aircraft was scrapped. Apparently the foam rotted lots of seals - windows, engines, gear etc - and made it beyond economic repair. If I recall correctly, he seemed to think you had as little as 24 hrs to clean the aircraft?

Hopefully, with lockdown, something like that doesn't happen here.

Are we sure this wasn't an engineer looking to make sourdough starter that got a bit out of control ? :)

Really interesting to see. Does anyone familiar with the system have any more insight? How is the foam discharged? Is it likely to have been dangerous for staff on the ground?

Not too bad for a relatively 'tall' aircraft which you enter via a door - not so good if you have to get in through the window:


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c289f9a797.jpg

Bit ironic, given that is supposed to suppress fires ;). Good insights though CWS..

We had an accidental discharge at work and the root cause was a faulty microswitch in the emergency release button. Nearby work caused vibration which caused a short, that definitely counts as a malfunction, as would any sensor that incorrectly detected a fire/smoke.

The day mass redundancies are announced - a coincidence, I am sure!

According to Twitter, the APU did it. Nozzles appeared to be pointed towards the floor, rather than the ceiling, luckily.

G-YMMB is being towed over to T5B tonight so mustn’t have suffered any damage.

Hi Tottie, do you have any more info about the system? So is the entire hangar rigged with a system that will douse the space in foam? Do all the maintenance hangars have this. Is there not a chance to cancel the alarm once it is triggered, before the suppressant is released?

I never knew hangars had this so it's interesting!

This isn't an isolated incident as Delta had a similar incident at the end of March!
https://simpleflying.com/delta-lax-h...oam-discharge/

Edit: it was also reported on the Delta board here:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delt...discharge.html

One possible explanation is, if a single heat or smoke detector is activated, an intermediate alarm may sound for a period time to allow the cause to be investigated and, if necessary, reset. However, if more than one detector is activated, the system would interpret that as the fire spreading. In that situation it’s straight to ‘sprinklers on’ with no opportunity to reset.

At that point a message would sound on the loudspeakers: ‘would inspector Sands come to the control room immediately’.

Interesting the number of posts on the Delta forum (6) compared to here. We are a chatty lot on the BAEC board.

Ah yes, good old Inspector Sands!

He has been around for a few years and have heard him paged a few times now whilst traveling in London. Have told a few family members and work colleagues about this and twice now on hearing it I have edged my way towards an exit in order to be the first out. The first time I heard it the place was evacuated so was one of the first out, the second time it was stood down.

Yes, all hangars have this sort of stuff. In Madrid's La Muñoza, where the hangar is basically one enormous cavernous hall where you can fit 2 340s and still have space, they have some massive cannons... quite impressive to see.

it used to ve an IRA bomb Code as well.
They would ring up and say something like “Bobby Sands is in ex building”

i never realized that this was a universal code. Back in the late 70s and early 80s, I used to work at a football stadium on match days and was aware of what a tannoy message for Mr. Sands to contact the match day manager meant.