B737 Area of Responsibility question re Fire Handle Actuation.
The FCTM does not specify whose job is to actuate the fire switch handles during an engine fire on the ground - in fact the pertitent diagram on areas of responsibility indicates it is a combined responsibility between captain and first officer. How does one combine responsibility?
Similarly, with an evacuation it is not clear from either the FCOM or FCTM who is responsible to actuating the fire handles. I am aware there are operators who require the captain to be entirely responsible to closing the start levers, and actuating the fire switches in the case of engine fire on the ground and during an evacuation. Other operators apply their own interpretation of what they think Boeing mean and therefore have the first officer carry out every recall action except for the start levers. The captain has little do do apparently.
Request views on who is responsible for what and who pulls which switches when faced with an engine fire on the ground or an evacuation.
On an allied matter, I understand that Airbus specifies that in event of an engine fire on the ground, the 30 second timing between the firing (if necessary) of the second bottle, does not apply to a fire on the ground but only to an engine fire in the air. I understand the reason being that in the air the second bottle is only meant to be fired after the engine compressor rpm has wound down and thus allows the extinguishing agent to have a greater chance of being effective.
On the deck the engine is already had its fuel cut off and rpm is low so both bottles should be fired into the engine without a 30 second delay between first and second shot. Makes sense - but Boeing don't differentiate and leave it to the operator to guess if the 30 second split applies equally in the air on on the ground. Request views or authoritive text.