B767-300 and 300 ER
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem; Flight Crew Returned To Gate; General Declared Emergency; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Company Policy; Procedure
During taxi-out; after leaving the ramp area; flight attendants notified us there was a fire in one of the first class galley ovens. The Captain stopped the plane I notified ATC and; with Captain's concurrence; requested ARFF equipment to be dispatched. The Captain instructed our Relief Pilot to proceed to the cabin with fire extinguisher but the cabin attendants had turned off oven and the fire/smoke had dissipated.The Captain advised ATC and the ARFF Commander that the problem was under control while I contacted Operations. We were assigned and returned to the gate where Maintenance discovered a bad heating element in the #2 oven. They disabled and deferred it; completed logbook entries and the flight proceeded to our destination.
The mechanic working on the oven informed me they would simply placard the oven inoperative and then release the aircraft. I was not content with that course of action; especially since no one knew the source of the fire. I asked the Mechanic what it would take to remove and repair the oven so we could see if there was any other damage. He said it would take two hours and they didn't want to do it. None of my crew was comfortable with continuing with this aircraft until the source of the fire was known. Maintenance claimed it was food behind the blower panel; so I asked them to remove the panel and confirm the source. Reluctantly they did; however they found no food. Instead they found a designating burner coil as the cause and source of the fire. After an inspection of the area and no further damage found; I accepted a placarded inoperative oven.
When a galley oven started to smoke and caught fire on taxi out the Flight Attendant alerted the flight crew and shut off the oven. The fire and smoke dissipated but they returned to the blocks with a CFR escort where; after persuasion; Maintenance removed and replaced/repaired the oven after discovering an electrical heater coil which had burned.