Electrical Fire
 

I was looking through the 172's checklist, and it says to close all the vents and cabin air in the event of an electrical fire. The Warrior's checklist, however, mandates that the vents be opened. Can anyone out there think of a reason for this difference?

Closing the vents is good in that it may prevent airflow from feeding a fire and making it worse.

Opening the vents is good in that it may remove smoke and toxic fumes from the cockpit.

The manufacturers may have just had a difference of opinion, or they may have analyzed cockpit airflow and reached different conclusions based on different airflow patterns. You would probably have to call and ask them to find out for sure.

I would probably close everything until the fire was out, then open to ventilate, or if the smoke got too thick.

Just remember to hold your breath while using the extinguisher. Halon = not good

Halon is not poisonous, but a lot of it in a confined space can displace enough air to create an oxygen-deficient environment. Also in some VERY hot fires, halon can break down into poisonous compounds. So yes, hold your breath as long as you can.

Halon will also displace the lungs capacity to take in and use oxygen, so absolutely hold your breath if at all possible. Serious bad juju...hell of a trade off. Makes it seem logical to buy a smoke mask or PBE.

Trust Rickair.....

I just looked at his avatar. It seems he's been in that situation before