Operational Airworthiness
Inspection and Maintenance of Handheld Portable Fire Extinguishers and the Hydostatic Testing of Pressure Vessels used in Aircraft
Purpose
This is to assist aircraft owners, operators and maintainers identify which organizations are approved to inspect and maintain handheld fire extinguishers and perform the hydrostatic testing of pressure vessels in Canada.
Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) accepts that the control, inspection, maintenance and re-qualification of these products may be done by organizations approved by the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Directorate (TDGD) in accordance with the applicable National Standards, Canadian Standards Association (CSA) or Underwriters Laboratories of Canada (ULC), for those products. An approved maintenance organization (AMO) certificate issued by TCCA is not required for these organizations.
Background
In the past, TC has issued approvals to organizations for the re-certification of fire extinguishers and other pressure vessels. However, compliance with standards outlined in this Airworthiness Notice eliminates the requirement of such approvals.
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Regulatory Framework
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Several levels of jurisdiction and rules apply to the service and maintenance of Handheld Fire Extinguishers and Pressure Vessels whether installed in an aircraft or while being repaired or serviced by an approved re-qualifier in Canada. Fire Extinguishers and Pressure Vessels are subject to their own rules that are applicable throughout industry in general as well as being governed by the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs).
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Federal and Provincial regulations control both the substances contained in these products and who can service and repair. All of these levels of regulations should be considered whenever any work is being performed on these products.
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Handheld Fire Extinguishers
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Aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) are authorized to install and remove handheld fire extinguishers and perform inspections up to but not including more intrusive activities such as recharging, replacement of working parts, lubrication, or functional testing and hydrostatic tests. These latter activities require suitable training and are normally performed by approved re-qualifiers holding Transport Canada Dangerous Goods Directorate approval.
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Work performed by these approved re-qualifiers does not require an additional certification by an AME (except, of course, for the certification upon reinstallation in the aircraft). The AME require only to confirm through the documentation that the work was performed by an approved TDGD organization and to ensure that the installation is correct.
Applicable Regulations and Standards for Portable Fire Extinguishers:
| Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act | Applicable TDG Act, S.C 1992, c.34 and Regulations |
| CAN/ULC-S532-1990 | Servicing of Portable Fire Extinguishers |
| ULC/ORD-C1058.18.1993 | Servicing of Halon Extinguishing Systems |
Pressure Vessels
Pressure vessels, which include Fixed and Portable Oxygen Bottles, Nitrogen Cylinders (Main Landing Gear Blow-down &Emergency Floatation Gear bottles, etc.), Fixed Fire Extinguisher bottles and system components (engine, lavatory, cargo, etc.) that are used in aircraft systems are also required to be serviced and re-qualified by persons holding Transport Canada Dangerous Goods Directorate approval.
Once again, work performed by a TDGD approved re-qualifier need not be re-certified by an AME or a TC approved maintenance organization. The AME requires to confirm only, though the documentation, that work was performed by an approved TDGD organization and to ensure the installation is correct.
Applicable Regulations and Standards for Pressure Vessels:
| Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act | Applicable TDG Act, S.C 1992, c.34 and Regulations |
| CAN/CSA B339-02 | Cylinders, Spheres and Tubes for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods |
| CAN/CSA B340-02 | Selection and use of Cylinders, Spheres, Tubes and other Containers for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Class II |
Recommended Practices
Owners, operators and maintainers must ensure that their handheld fire extinguishers and pressure vessels are re-qualified by TDGD approved organizations and that they receive the appropriate documentation confirming that the requested work has been completed. There are currently, 267 registered cylinder re-qualifiers in Canada. These registered companies vary in their capabilities and should be consulted to confirm that they are approved to complete the requested work (hydrostatic testing, re-charging. etc.).
Please visit the following website for contact and capability information for approved cylinders re-qualifiers in Canada.
http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/3/fdr-rici/cylinder/requalifier.aspx
For Minister of Transport
D.B. Sherritt
Director, Maintenance and Manufacturing