Originally Posted by
FullWings
As FF above, I regard an engine fire warning as something that requires action but not to the point of compromising safety in other ways. What does a fire indication tell you? All it means is that, false warnings aside, the temperature in the nacelle has reached a certain point (175 to 300C in some installations, depending on which area) and if the warning is still active, that the temperature is still above that level. It doesn’t necessarily follow that you are burning brightly and dropping bits of wing and engine over the countryside...
It probably bears noting here that a significant percentage of fire warnings are either false alarms, or simply nacelle overheats related to things like burst ducts. The numbers vary considerably between different airframes and engine types (no idea what the numbers are for an A320), but there are some (older) installations where the numbers approach 50% false. Most newer installations are better than that, but none are 100% accurate. I only know of one scenario where engine fire required absolute immediate action to save the aircraft - that was a combustor case rupture right on the top - resulting in 3000 deg F was impinging directly on the strut and could compromise the spar fuel shutoff valve in something like 30 seconds (leaving you unable to turn off the fuel to the fire). It's probably worth noting that there is no record of this ever actually happening.
Don't panic, do the checklist.
I think this is sound advice.
Bingo!