11.8 Fire And Smoke Detection And Warning

Question 1

What are the three things needed for a fire to occur?
A. Oil, electricity, insulation
B. Fuel, heat, oxygen
C. Smoke, pressure, nitrogen

Answer 1

B. Fuel, heat, oxygen

Question 2

What is a fire zone in an aircraft?
A. An area with high passenger traffic
B. An area requiring detection/extinguishing and high fire resistance
C. The cargo hold

Answer 2

B. An area requiring detection/extinguishing and high fire resistance

Question 3

What is the purpose of a fire warning system?
A. To automatically extinguish fires
B. To notify maintenance personnel of a problem
C. To alert the crew of fire or overheat risk

Answer 3

C. To alert the crew of fire or overheat risk

Question 4

What does an overheat warning system do?
A. Detects overheat in high-temperature areas
B. Cools down hot engines
C. Turns off the fuel pump

Answer 4

A. Detects overheat in high-temperature areas

Question 5

What type of fire detection systems are found on small aircraft?
A. Thermal switches only
B. Overheat, flame, rate-of-rise, and crew observation
C. Infrared sensors only

Answer 5

B. Overheat, flame, rate-of-rise, and crew observation

Question 6

What fire detection system do most modern aircraft use?
A. Carbon monoxide only
B. Rate-of-climb
C. Various continuous loop fire detection systems

Answer 6

C. Various continuous loop fire detection systems

Question 7

What is a thermal switch system?
A. A camera that sees flames
B. Heat-sensitive switches that complete a circuit
C. Manual override switches for cabin lighting

Answer 7

B. Heat-sensitive switches that complete a circuit

Question 8

What is a thermocouple system?
A. Detects if smoke smells like oil
B. Relies on rate of temperature change using dissimilar metals
C. Contains mercury to detect heat

Answer 8

B. Relies on rate of temperature change using dissimilar metals

Question 9

What is a continuous loop system?
A. A system of multiple handheld fire extinguishers
B. A wire mesh that gets warm when there’s fire
C. A long sensing element that detects heat over a large area

Answer 9

C. A long sensing element that detects heat over a large area

Question 10

What does the Fenwal system use?
A. Eutectic salt and a nickel wire in an Inconel tube
B. Mercury and glass tubes
C. A magnetic relay switch

Answer 10

A. Eutectic salt and a nickel wire in an Inconel tube

Question 11

What is the Kidde system made of?
A. Salt water and steel wires
B. Thermistor core with two conductors in an Inconel tube
C. Plastic rods filled with air

Answer 11

B. Thermistor core with two conductors in an Inconel tube

Question 12

What is the purpose of a system test?
A. To release smoke for testing
B. To simulate heat and check circuit function
C. To test airspeed sensors

Answer 12

B. To simulate heat and check circuit function

Question 13

Why are dual-loop systems used?
A. To cool the engines
B. To eliminate the need for alarms
C. To reduce false fire warnings

Answer 13

C. To reduce false fire warnings

Question 14

Where are fire detector sensing elements usually located?
A. In low-pressure areas
B. In high activity zones around engines
C. On the passenger seats

Answer 14

B. In high activity zones around engines

Question 15

What are the two basic types of smoke detectors?
A. LED and laser
B. Ionisation and photoelectric
C. Manual and automatic

Answer 15

B. Ionisation and photoelectric

Question 16

How does an ionisation smoke detector work?
A. Detects changes in gas density
B. Detects light scattered by particles
C. Uses radioactive material to sense particles

Answer 16

C. Uses radioactive material to sense particles

Question 17

How does a photoelectric smoke detector work?
A. Detects smoke temperature
B. Detects smoke particles by light reflection
C. Uses magnets to detect ash

Answer 17

B. Detects smoke particles by light reflection

Question 18

What does a cargo smoke detector system do?
A. Cleans cabin air
B. Uses fans to pull air into a sensor and detect smoke
C. Activates the emergency slides

Answer 18

B. Uses fans to pull air into a sensor and detect smoke

Question 19

What does a lavatory smoke detector system do?
A. Dispenses perfume
B. Opens the door automatically
C. Monitors for smoke and activates alarms

Answer 19

C. Monitors for smoke and activates alarms

Question 20

What happens if smoke remains in the lavatory after reset?
A. Water sprays automatically
B. The toilet flushes continuously
C. The red alarm LED stays on

Answer 20

C. The red alarm LED stays on

Question 21

Which of the following zones has a fixed fire detection and extinguishing system?
A) Flight Deck
B) Lavatory
C) Cabin

Answer 21

B) Lavatory

Question 22

Which fire extinguishing agent is currently most commonly used in aviation?
A) CO₂
B) Halon 1301
C) Water Mist

Answer 22

B) Halon 1301

Question 23

Why is Halon 1301 still used in aircraft systems?
A) It is cheap and easy to produce
B) It is recyclable and very effective
C) It is the only agent approved by ICAO

Answer 23

B) It is recyclable and very effective

Question 24

Why is a two-way check valve used in twin-engine aircraft?
A) To increase bottle pressure
B) To prevent reverse flow of extinguishing agent
C) To reduce turbulence in the system

Answer 24

B) To prevent reverse flow of extinguishing agent

Question 25

What does a red discharge indicator signify? A) Manual activation B) Electrical fault C) Thermal discharge due to overheating

Answer 25

C) Thermal discharge due to overheating

Question 26

What does a yellow discharge indicator signify? A) Agent discharged by flight crew B) Thermal blowout C) System fault

Answer 26

A) Agent discharged by flight crew

Question 27

What must be done if a discharge indicator has been ejected? A) Recharge the system B) Replace the fire bottle C) Reset the switch

Answer 27

B) Replace the fire bottle

Question 28

What happens when the fire handle is pulled and turned? A) Fire bottle discharges immediately B) Engine continues running normally C) Generator, fuel, bleed, and hydraulics are isolated

Answer 28

C) Generator, fuel, bleed, and hydraulics are isolated

Question 29

What happens when the agent push button is pressed? A) A fan starts to cool the area B) The squib detonates and ruptures the frangible disc C) Fire warning resets

Answer 29

B) The squib detonates and ruptures the frangible disc

Question 30

If the fire warning remains 30 seconds after the first bottle is discharged, what should be done? A) Switch off the system B) Reset the fire handle C) Discharge the second bottle

Answer 30

C) Discharge the second bottle

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT a cause of APU auto shutdown? A) High vibration B) Overheat C) Fire

Answer 31

A) High vibration

Question 32

How can maintenance verify that a fire extinguisher bottle is full? A) Check bottle color B) Listen for internal pressure C) Weigh the bottle

Answer 32

C) Weigh the bottle

Question 33

What is the maximum life of a fire extinguisher squib cartridge? A) 3 years B) 10 years C) 15 years

Answer 33

B) 10 years

Question 34

Within how many seconds must a cargo fire detection system alert the flight crew? A) 30 seconds B) 60 seconds C) 90 seconds

Answer 34

B) 60 seconds

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT a cargo fire warning indication on the flight deck? A) Master warning light B) Engine vibration message C) Cargo fire warning light

Answer 35

B) Engine vibration message

Question 36

Why are aural and master warnings inhibited during takeoff? A) To reduce cockpit workload B) To avoid interference with the autopilot C) To save battery power

Answer 36

B) To avoid interference with the autopilot

Question 37

How is a lavatory fire extinguisher activated? A) Flight crew push a button B) Cabin crew pull a pin C) Solder melts at high temperature

Answer 37

C) Solder melts at high temperature

Question 38

What indicates a fire has occurred in the lavatory waste bin? A) Red light flashes B) Black circles on temperature indicator C) Smoke exits the lavatory

Answer 38

B) Black circles on temperature indicator

Question 39

Which extinguishing method maintains fire suppression for up to 180 minutes in cargo compartments? A) Manual release system B) Dump and vent system C) Metered discharge system

Answer 39

C) Metered discharge system

Question 40

What must be replaced if a lavatory extinguisher activates? A) Only the nozzle B) The bottle and temperature strip C) Just the temperature indicator

Answer 40

B) The bottle and temperature strip

Question 41

What does selecting ‘TEST’ on the Master Test Warn switch do? A) Simulates a system fault B) Initiates fire warning test sequence C) Resets previous fire warnings

Answer 41

B) Initiates fire warning test sequence

Question 42

What indication is expected when ‘TEST’ is selected on the Master Test Warn switch with Loop A or B selected? A) Only visual indicators are triggered B) Only fire handles are illuminated C) Aural and visual warnings with message displays

Answer 42

C) Aural and visual warnings with message displays

Question 43

What does the ‘FAIL’ position on the Master Test Warn switch simulate? A) Successful fire loop activation B) Fault condition on fire loops C) Cargo smoke discharge

Answer 43

B) Fault condition on fire loops

Question 44

What does the ‘FAIL’ position on the Master Test Warn switch simulate? A) Successful fire loop activation B) Fault condition on fire loops C) Cargo smoke discharge

Answer 44

B) Fault condition on fire loops

Question 45

During the Cargo Bottle Test 1, what aural warning is heard? A) “WARNING FIRE” B) “JETPIPE OVERHEAT” C) “SMOKE”

Answer 45

C) “SMOKE”

Question 46

What happens when the lavatory smoke detector test button is pressed? A) Cargo fire light illuminates B) Aural warning and alarm light activate C) Waste bin extinguishes

Answer 46

B) Aural warning and alarm light activate

Question 47

What cockpit indication is seen during a lavatory smoke detector test? A) “CARGO SMOKE” red warning B) “LAV FIRE” red warning C) “SMOKE TOILET” amber or red warning

Answer 47

C) “SMOKE TOILET” amber or red warning

Question 48

How is the lavatory smoke test stopped? A) Pulling the circuit breaker B) Pressing the interrupt button C) Turning off the smoke sensor

Answer 48

B) Pressing the interrupt button

Question 49

When will the lavatory fire extinguisher automatically discharge? A) When SMOKE TOILET is triggered B) At cabin pressure loss C) At temperatures above 77°C

Answer 49

C) At temperatures above 77°C

Question 50

How can fire bottle discharge be visually confirmed during maintenance? A) By flashing light B) By checking grey exit tubes or weighing the unit C) By cockpit fire test

Answer 50

B) By checking grey exit tubes or weighing the unit