"Jay Honeck" wrote

Have you ever WORKED on a plane, in a shop? Have you ever had to de-fuel
a plane to work on it? Where do you think this happens?

I'll tell you where it happens -- in the shop hangar. They unscrew the
quick drain, stick a plastic funnel into a 5-gallon plastic jug, and let
the fuel drain. Then, when that jug is full, they quickly move another
jug under the funnel, dumping gas all over the hangar floor. This happens
until the tank is empty.

This goes on day after day, week after week, year after year, at hundreds
of airports across America. WITH THE DOOR CLOSED. God almighty, if we
were to believe your nonsense, the newspapers would be full of 5-alarm
fires at airports.

The difference in fueling or defueling an airplane in a hangar is how the
hangar is equipped.

It is against fire code to construct an aircraft or perform major
maintenance in a hangar that is not equipped with a sprinkler system. I
know this, because our local EAA chapter has been looking into constructing
a hangar, and to do more than final assembly will not be allowed without
sprinklers, which of course costs big money.

The risk of a fire from fueling an airplane or working on the fuel system is
the same in any hangar, but it is how the risk is managed if a fire results.
Putting a fire out when it first happens may mean the result is saving lives
and property.

To satisfy fire code, fueling and defueling should be done outside, where
there is no possibility of the potentially explosive vapors concentrating to
a dangerous level. If a fire does result, it will likely not be an
explosive event, and will leave those involved with the ability to get away
from the fire quickly, and will also likely not catch anything else on fire.

Isn't that what all fire codes are about? The tradeoffs between prevention,
protection, and suppression.

So while you do not feel that fueling in a hangar is a risk, it is to a fire
marshal, and his regulations say that if you choose to participate in this
risky behavior, you must prevent the possible result from getting out of
hand. That means install sprinklers, at minimum.
--
Jim in NC