A fire erupted in a B737 overhead bin which was extinguished by the flight attendants with halon. An...

Narrative:

Cabin fire at fl 330 isolated to row six to seven in the overhead bin (first officer side). Flames and smoke were noticeable. Declared emergency and began rapid descent direct to landing destination (closest suitable airport). Donned masks and struggled to establish communication between the first officer and ATC. Eventually; it worked out. First officer was flying while I coordinated with all the other agencies (dispatch/ATC and cabin crew). We were only about 15 minutes from landing when notified of the fire. Flight attendants used halon extinguisher to put out the fire and we relocated passengers from the affected area prior to discharge. During descent; I became focused on the coordination and failed to call for the QRH. We were told the fire appeared to be out; and then I advised the cabin crew we would clear the runway and taxi straight to the gate. The plan made for a smooth turn and taxi direct into the gate. We had coordinated with dispatch/operations and ATC to have the fire support meet us at the gate and come on board to inspect the affected area for any further signs of fire. I struggled with establishing communication between the first officer and ATC; initially; due to my headset and eye glasses. Once I got the switchology accomplished; we were able to communicate effectively. Having never had to do this in a real time scenario was not the time to experience it firsthand in an aircraft emergency. I was hoping we might introduce this training into our proficiency training so we can actually fly the aircraft; done our masks; and establish communication. I think that environment would help tremendously toward more proficient use of the mask and comm panel. The lack of QRH usage could also be in the proficiency training as well (they could go hand-in-hand). We should have to experience reading and accomplishing the QRH with our masks on. Lastly; I think we should more closely look at breaking out a cabin fire checklist from the generalized procedures currently established. We looked over the QRH on our last leg and found that nothing really applied in our scenario; as we didn't have the opportunity to help isolate power sources for the fire. Just some food for thought.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A fire erupted in a B737 overhead bin which was extinguished by the flight attendants with Halon. An emergency was declared and the flight expedited to the destination but the Captain had difficulty with oxygen mask communications.

Narrative: Cabin fire at FL 330 isolated to row six to seven in the overhead bin (First Officer side). Flames and smoke were noticeable. Declared emergency and began rapid descent direct to landing destination (closest suitable airport). Donned masks and struggled to establish communication between the First Officer and ATC. Eventually; it worked out. First Officer was flying while I coordinated with all the other agencies (Dispatch/ATC and cabin Crew). We were only about 15 minutes from landing when notified of the fire. Flight Attendants used Halon extinguisher to put out the fire and we relocated Passengers from the affected area prior to discharge. During descent; I became focused on the coordination and failed to call for the QRH. We were told the fire appeared to be out; and then I advised the cabin Crew we would clear the runway and taxi straight to the gate. The plan made for a smooth turn and taxi direct into the gate. We had coordinated with Dispatch/Operations and ATC to have the fire support meet us at the gate and come on board to inspect the affected area for any further signs of fire. I struggled with establishing communication between the First Officer and ATC; initially; due to my headset and eye glasses. Once I got the switchology accomplished; we were able to communicate effectively. Having never had to do this in a real time scenario was not the time to experience it firsthand in an aircraft emergency. I was hoping we might introduce this training into our proficiency training so we can actually fly the aircraft; done our masks; and establish communication. I think that environment would help tremendously toward more proficient use of the mask and Comm panel. The lack of QRH usage could also be in the proficiency training as well (they could go hand-in-hand). We should have to experience reading and accomplishing the QRH with our masks on. Lastly; I think we should more closely look at breaking out a Cabin Fire Checklist from the generalized procedures currently established. We looked over the QRH on our last leg and found that nothing really applied in our scenario; as we didn't have the opportunity to help isolate power sources for the fire. Just some food for thought.

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.

Attributes
ACN	968526
Time
Date	201109
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-300
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 187
Events
Anomaly	Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

A fire erupted in a B737 overhead bin which was extinguished by the flight attendants with halon. An emergency was declared and the flight expedited to the destination but the captain had difficulty with oxygen mask communications.