Apologies for the slight drift... the earlier post about the cabin crew & 'smoke' interests me...
As a CC, I'm curious as to what the procedure is at the pointy end if we call you with a 'smoke' or 'fire' event... Are you trained to ask us questions or to trust absolutely that we know exactly the situation? Of course, we are trained but the example given above shows that it's possible to miscommunicate and misunderstand each other.
In past airlines I've been taught that you never use the "F word" unless you can actually SEE visible flame... and that if you are seeing 'smoke' you say only 'smoke', with a descriptor (E.g. "I cannot see more than one economy seat row" or "I can see to L2 door from L3" etc etc)
If CC were to call you with "fire" is there any promtfor you to ask us if we can SEE it, or are you taught by training to just go with what we say? I understand that crew need to trust each other, however wouldn't you want to be absolutely sure about the information you receive? Does the procedure vary by airline, personal preference, or other factors?
Back to UPS, I too was wondering if audio cues could help, but weren't some other posters talking about excess wind/airflow noise? (Especially if the a/c is depressurised) would this cancel out any effectiveness of audio cues? I suppose it's better to have SOMETHING on the chance it can be heard, than not at all.
Also, would there be any benefit in having certain controls/switches given a tactile coating/shape so they can be more easily found in low light/smoke. (I realise that by years of use, most pilots probably know the locations, but undre stress would it be handy being able to KNOW you have th right switch/button, just by feel?)
We have them on the overwing exits on the B738, why not in the cockpit? Even some form of 'Braille' might have helped, especially on the radio switches...
Apologies for some out loud thinking, especially as a non-professional with limited flying experience (aside from the cabin end)