Narrative:

Flight attendants reported oven fire in mid cabin galley. They had already extinguished it with halon. As the pilot on a break, I went to the galley to investigate and assist. I removed power from the oven and reported to the crew in the cockpit. The crew conferred with our company dispatch, maintenance and safety personnel via satcom. We verified the fire was out and depwred the entire galley and the flight proceeded without further incident. 2 things stand out to me as being beneficial to the successful handling of the fire: 1) our company's commitment to putting satellite communications on our overwater planes. It provided instant, continuous communications with ground resources. 2) our CRM training with flight attendants improved our ability to communicate and bring the entire crew together as a team. One item that might bear looking into: cleaning of galley ovens. The fire was apparently caused by food and/or wrapping material in the area of the oven fan. Maybe there should be procedures to check oven cleanliness to prevent fires. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter stated the aircraft was a B767-300 and the reporter was the relief pilot riding in the first class cabin when the fire was discovered. The reporter said by the time the mid galley was reached the cabin attendant had extinguished the fire using a halon bottle. The reporter said the cause was an accumulation of debris, food wrappers, food remains and dirt pulled into the fan, stalling and overheating and ultimately burning the debris. The reporter stated the oven fan circuit breaker did not trip.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B767-300 IN CRUISE AT FL340 EXPERIENCED A GALLEY OVEN FIRE IN THE MID GALLEY CAUSED BY AN ACCUMULATION OF FOOD WRAPPERS, FOOD DEBRIS AND DIRT, STALLING AND OVERHEATING THE OVEN FAN.

Narrative: FLT ATTENDANTS RPTED OVEN FIRE IN MID CABIN GALLEY. THEY HAD ALREADY EXTINGUISHED IT WITH HALON. AS THE PLT ON A BREAK, I WENT TO THE GALLEY TO INVESTIGATE AND ASSIST. I REMOVED PWR FROM THE OVEN AND RPTED TO THE CREW IN THE COCKPIT. THE CREW CONFERRED WITH OUR COMPANY DISPATCH, MAINT AND SAFETY PERSONNEL VIA SATCOM. WE VERIFIED THE FIRE WAS OUT AND DEPWRED THE ENTIRE GALLEY AND THE FLT PROCEEDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. 2 THINGS STAND OUT TO ME AS BEING BENEFICIAL TO THE SUCCESSFUL HANDLING OF THE FIRE: 1) OUR COMPANY'S COMMITMENT TO PUTTING SATELLITE COMS ON OUR OVERWATER PLANES. IT PROVIDED INSTANT, CONTINUOUS COMS WITH GND RESOURCES. 2) OUR CRM TRAINING WITH FLT ATTENDANTS IMPROVED OUR ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE AND BRING THE ENTIRE CREW TOGETHER AS A TEAM. ONE ITEM THAT MIGHT BEAR LOOKING INTO: CLEANING OF GALLEY OVENS. THE FIRE WAS APPARENTLY CAUSED BY FOOD AND/OR WRAPPING MATERIAL IN THE AREA OF THE OVEN FAN. MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE PROCS TO CHK OVEN CLEANLINESS TO PREVENT FIRES. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED THE ACFT WAS A B767-300 AND THE RPTR WAS THE RELIEF PLT RIDING IN THE FIRST CLASS CABIN WHEN THE FIRE WAS DISCOVERED. THE RPTR SAID BY THE TIME THE MID GALLEY WAS REACHED THE CABIN ATTENDANT HAD EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE USING A HALON BOTTLE. THE RPTR SAID THE CAUSE WAS AN ACCUMULATION OF DEBRIS, FOOD WRAPPERS, FOOD REMAINS AND DIRT PULLED INTO THE FAN, STALLING AND OVERHEATING AND ULTIMATELY BURNING THE DEBRIS. THE RPTR STATED THE OVEN FAN CIRCUIT BREAKER DID NOT TRIP.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.