Narrative:

During roll-out; the first officer (pilot flying) began to apply manual braking and as the auto-brakes disengaged; we experienced a shudder and wobbling of the rudder pedals. I took control and chose to stop on the runway and asked my first officer to call the tower and roll the equipment so that we could be inspected; since at this point we were not sure of what had occurred. Upon setting the brakes and shutting the engines down; I asked tower to notify me when the 'men and equipment' were approaching so that I could ensure the area was clear and the engines had been shut down.after stopping the aircraft; we also notified maintenance and operations; since we would need a tug to take us from the runway to the gate. Since they were the only ones to arrive; we worked with them to ensure all was safe; we raised the flaps; maintenance installed the gear pins and we were pulled off the runway and into the gate.after I completed my duties and entered the discrepancy into the maintenance log; I phoned dispatch to discuss the fact that airport fire and rescue never responded to our request. The cause of this event has to be a miscommunication between us and the tower controller. As I took control of the aircraft and asked my first officer to inform the tower to 'roll the equipment;' I turned my attention to stopping the aircraft safely on [the] runway; making a PA to 'remain seated;' calling the flight attendants to ask them about any smell in the cabin and to see how the passengers were reacting. I am certain that both pilots believed the request for afr had been made. I also thought my questions/statements about the aircraft being safe for the 'men and equipment' to approach were done in a manner that indicated I believed afr was on the way.dispatch; who phoned the tower to ask why they didn't respond; advised their comment was that we never made the request. Fortunately; we didn't need their assistance; but I have learned from the event that next time I want the afr to respond; I will ensure that we state so clearly and without question.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: After stopping on the runway in response to a braking anomaly; the flight crew of a B737NG were concerned when their request for CFR response was not responded to. The Tower advised they had not received the request.

Narrative: During roll-out; the First Officer (pilot flying) began to apply manual braking and as the auto-brakes disengaged; we experienced a shudder and wobbling of the rudder pedals. I took control and chose to stop on the runway and asked my First Officer to call the Tower and roll the equipment so that we could be inspected; since at this point we were not sure of what had occurred. Upon setting the brakes and shutting the engines down; I asked Tower to notify me when the 'men and equipment' were approaching so that I could ensure the area was clear and the engines had been shut down.After stopping the aircraft; we also notified Maintenance and Operations; since we would need a tug to take us from the runway to the gate. Since they were the only ones to arrive; we worked with them to ensure all was safe; we raised the flaps; Maintenance installed the gear pins and we were pulled off the runway and into the gate.After I completed my duties and entered the discrepancy into the maintenance log; I phoned Dispatch to discuss the fact that airport Fire and Rescue never responded to our request. The cause of this event has to be a miscommunication between us and the Tower Controller. As I took control of the aircraft and asked my First Officer to inform the Tower to 'roll the equipment;' I turned my attention to stopping the aircraft safely on [the] runway; making a PA to 'remain seated;' calling the flight attendants to ask them about any smell in the cabin and to see how the passengers were reacting. I am certain that both pilots believed the request for AFR had been made. I also thought my questions/statements about the aircraft being safe for the 'men and equipment' to approach were done in a manner that indicated I believed AFR was on the way.Dispatch; who phoned the Tower to ask why they didn't respond; advised their comment was that we never made the request. Fortunately; we didn't need their assistance; but I have learned from the event that next time I want the AFR to respond; I will ensure that we state so clearly and without question.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.