Aviation Extinguishers – All You Need To Know
What is the life cycle and warranty for FFE extinguishers?
The warranty for all our extinguishers is three years from the date of manufacture, along with shelf life of ten years, unless they have been discharged or damaged, meaning the extinguisher must be replaced.
Where can I find the latest Component Maintenance Manual, Service Bulletin, Material Safety Datasheet or Service Information Letter for my extinguisher?
We have an online library for all of our extinguisher related documents which is supported by Percival Aviation Ltd. First go to www.firecmm.com and register your email to the relevant document you’re looking for.
Once you have registered, you will receive automatic updates when the latest revision is released.
Can I return my extinguisher?
For extinguishers containing halon and non-halon products we are only registered with an export licence. We do not possess an import licence so are unable to except returns of any extinguishers outside the EU.
We have nearly 40 years of expertise in the portable, mobile and fixed fire extinguisher market and our systems are on board many of the commercial and military aircraft in service today.
I have an FFE portable extinguisher Issue 3 that I need to replace and I can only find Issue 5 portable extinguisher version, what is the difference?
A number of Issue 3 portable extinguisher models were made obsolete due to a change in the cylinder manufacturer, which lead to the removal of the gauge on the base of the cylinder. The change to the new supplier meant we could only produce portable extinguishers with a flat base, instead of a recessed base where the gauge would be installed.
Issue 5 portable extinguishers have the same dimensions, form factor and performance as the previous versions and will interface with all available FFE extinguisher brackets.
For a full list of the models discussed go to www.firecmm.com
My extinguisher cylinder label is damaged – are extinguisher labels sold separately?
The instructions label is not serviceable or sold separately. If there is label or cylinder damage then the extinguisher is seen as faulty and must be replaced.
To reduce the likelihood of label damage in the future, we recommend using our FFE brackets that are designed to secure the extinguisher to the aircraft frame without damaging the label.
Can I purchase non-halon extinguishers from FFE?
One of the two types of extinguisher we produce are 0.12kg aircraft auto lavatory extinguishers (lavex) which are designed to put out toilet bin fires on board aircraft and come in various arm configurations to suit different airframe layouts.
The ‘auto’ of the extinguisher means it is not manually triggered and activates when the heat within the bin reaches a certain temperature.
These used to contain Halon 1301 (a gas flooding agent) as the fire suppressant, which is known to be an O-zone damaging substance. Since 2016 we have completely moved the lavatory extinguisher range to a non-Halon alternative, FF-36, which still maintains the same performance and weight as the halon versions. We are also making progress in developing 0.3kg and 0.7kg lavatory extinguishers.
Our portable extinguisher range is still being produced using Halon 1211 (liquid stream agent). We are actively looking at a suitable Halon replacement but have no news to share at this time. Please watch this space for new developments.
The indicator disc has broken on the trigger of our extinguisher, can I fix it?
The indicator disc is a visual aid in showing whether the extinguisher has been discharged.
If found damaged or missing remove the extinguisher from the aircraft and check the weight of the extinguisher is not less than the weight recorded on the ‘date of manufacture label’ which is on the neck of the extinguisher cylinder.
After passing the weight check, you will need to determine that the brass plug on the cylinder is not damaged from any potential impact. Unscrew the trigger head anti-clockwise and if the sound of gas escaping occurs immediately tighten and safely dispose of the extinguisher.
If no damage has occurred we can supply a new trigger assembly with EASA Form 1 certificate, which will be at a cost, alternatively you can replace the whole extinguisher assembly.
