Image to right: Fire detection testing and microfabricated sensors. Oxygen sensor tested.

Just like your home or office, cargo holds beneath the cabin floors of aircraft have fire alarm detectors. And, just like your home or office, those sensors can often sound false alarms, thanks to dust, dirt, aerosols, varying humidity, air temperatures, and air pressures.

According to the FAA, there were 100-200 false alarms for every warning of an actual fire. A pilot who receives a false alarm needlessly initiates emergency procedures that compromise flight safety and air traffic management, including activating on-board extinguishing equipment, requesting priority over other air traffic, and landing at the nearest airport.

NASA developed a sensor that, instead of sensing only for the presence of smoke particulates, senses for multiple types of gas species known to be emitted by fire at its onset. After testing the sensor over a series of exposures to dust and humidity, the device had a zero false alarm rate compared to 100 percent for the commercial system. A version of the new NASA-developed sensor is now available commercially—the Multi-Parameter, MicroSensor-Based Low False Alarm Fire Detection System.

Low False Alarm Fire Detection Sensor Team
NASA Glenn Research Center, FAA, Sandia National Laboratories, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio State University