AF hangar acceptance testing checklist paves way for new standards

  • Published
  • By Susan Lawson
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Fire protection engineers, or FPEs, convened recently for the final acceptance test of an aircraft hangar foam fire suppression system at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

The addition to the 99th Air Base Wing fuel cell maintenance hangar, there was the first Air Force hangar fire suppression system to be tested with new Unified Facilities Criteria, which requires fire suppression system activation by triple infrared, or IR, detection technology.

Judy Biddle, hangar fire suppression subject matter specialist at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, has been developing standardized checklist criteria to be followed for all future acceptance tests around the world.

The standardized project acceptance checklist effort began after it was discovered that hangar fire suppression acceptance testing process differed depending on the fire protection engineer overseeing the test. There was no uniformity even within agencies.

"In order to provide a more reliable fire suppression system and reduce or eliminate false activations, we need both oversight and consistency," Biddle said.

This project, along with projects at Hill Air Force Base, Utah; and McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, will provide criteria for standardized Air Force hangar fire suppression acceptance testing. 

The visit also included joint services FPE working group meetings for standardizing the checklist, providing training and moving forward to bring uniformity across the services on hangar fire suppression systems.  FPEs from the Air Force, Air National Guard, Navy, Army Corps of Engineers and industry participated to make this an educational experience of benefit across the Air Force enterprise, as well as influence future industry standards.

Hangar fire suppression system designer and FPE, Christopher Cahill, designed  the hangar fire suppression system at Nellis.

"Fire protection in hangars had reached an equilibrium state.  (Judy Biddle's) enthusiasm, leadership and ability to navigate the process has broken down barriers and created 'the standard' for years to come," said Chris Cahill, FPE and hangar fire suppression system designer for the Nellis system.

In addition to the Air Force hangar study conducted over the past year, the Air National Guard has been conducting a similar study.  Air Force and Air National Guard FPEs have worked closely together and provided valuable insight towards standardization efforts.

Fire protection engineers from Nellis attended the hangar's fire suppression system testing for safety and educational purposes. Irvin Ridgeway, 99th CES fire prevention specialist, led the group through this process.

"This was one of the most thorough tests I have witnessed and I am positive I know exactly what to look for on future tests. The live propane pan fires to test the new triple IR detectors were an interesting revision from the jet fuel pan fires used previously. This was also an 'out of the norm' hangar addition that connected two systems into one and Ms. Biddle's system determinations were extremely valuable," said Ridgeway.

Nellis will continue to work closely with AFCEC to ensure future hangar fire suppression systems meet criteria.