Aircraft and the Fire Problem

Extract

Fire control has two phases, prevention and cure. Of these the first is obviously the most important, but equally obviously serious attention must be given to the second.

Great advances have been made towards the minimising of the fire hazard as it affects aircraft. Previously inflammable components have been replaced by ones of metal; tanks have been made much less prone to disintegrate in a crash, and the press has provided us with a non-inflammable fuel.

It is not my intention to-night, however, to deal with this aspect of the case; it has received a great deal of attention and is constantly before you as aircraft designers. I propose to elaborate the subject of curing those cases we are unable to prevent.

The subject of fire extinction has been curiously neglected scientifically. Recently, one must admit, some attention has been bestowed upon it, but attention of rather a haphazard nature.