@Shawn Coyle
I know russian helicopters well, especially Mi-2 and Mi-8.
And you are rightly, the fire warning, protection and extinguish system is other and on some parts much better than western systems.The main problem i experienced personally one time and some times by other guys is the sensitivity of the russian system. On the first view the system seems to be perfect. Very good sensors, oh yes, rate of temp change is greater than x/sec, absolute temp is greater than y, airflow more than z meters/sec, 2 or 3 bottles, extinguishing in various compartments including gearbox section, not only the engines and
fully automatic release of the first bottle in case of fire detection!
And that's the problem. Current variations, peaks or some other electrical problems, hot air from outside and you have lost the engine. Mostly on ground within the startup and pre-takeoff procedures, the fire system is "hot", refering to checklist before engine start, and the susceptibility is high. In flight it seems the system works constantly or better. On older ships, the fire-bottles are filled with foam and that makes unhappy if you have to clean the whole compartment
All electrical problems counted as finger trouble, some times only a forgotten switch and the problem was under the (pilot)helmet. It's never possible to built a pilot safe system!
And the weight of their systems and parts it's really russian style. Much more parts and really strong built. Happy times changing to fly western and russian twins! From Mi-2 to Bk 117, nearly the same weight!, but there are some
small differencies...