Regional Jet 200 ER/LR (CRJ200)
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Time Pressure
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
General Evacuated
Aircraft; Human Factors
On single engine taxi out the Captain called for second engine start checklist. I completed the checklist the engine stabilized and I began to smell a foul fuel burning smell. I asked the captain if he smelled that and he said yes. I looked at the EGT on the APU gauge and it was pegged in the red after turning the packs on. I stated that I am shutting the APU down and I immediately transferred the bleeds to the engines. Smoke continued to pour out of the gaspers. The flight attendant called up and said we have heavy smoke in the cabin. I told her to standby as I notified ground of our situation. She called up again and said the word FIRE I notified ground to roll the trucks and the Captain decided that we were going to evacuate. I notified ground we were evacuating and ran the passenger evacuation checklist. The captain wanted an orderly Evacuation out the left side of the aircraft down the passenger stairs however some passengers went out of the emergency overwing exits. The plane was evacuated very quickly when we opened the cockpit door everyone was gone except our flight attendant and we were able to assist her in making sure all were off the aircraft. She did an excellent job staying calm. We had two commuting pilots and another flight attendant riding in the back who also did an excellent job in assisting. I feel we handled the situation properly for how quickly the event happened. The first priority is safety and while on the ground dealing with smoke/fire the quickest and safest way is to get everyone out of the aircraft. The only regret I have is not making clear evacuation instructions. However; No one was injured and the plane was deplaned very quickly.
After flight left the gate we were taxiing and I called for the second engine start check. The first officer completed the second engine start and within a few seconds we noticed an odor of smoke. We informed ATC we may need to go back to the gate. The ground controller asked if we needed assistance and I told him to standby. Shortly after; the flight attendant called the flight deck and asked if we smelled it and stated that it was getting bad in the cabin and she saw smoke. I set the parking brake and told ATC to roll the fire trucks and he stated they were on the way. A passenger then yelled fire and she repeated what the passenger said. At this point the flight deck started to fill with smoke so I ordered her to evacuate the passengers out the left side of the aircraft. She stated the passengers had already started removing the over wing emergency exits. We then told ATC we were evacuating and I called for the Immediate Action Items for Passenger Evacuation. We completed the checklist and exited the aircraft out of the passenger door. The flight attendant already had the passengers off the aircraft and did a fantastic job evacuating the passengers expeditiously. To the best of my knowledge there have been no reported injuries. I would also like to say there were two pilots in the back and another flight attendant on board who assisted the flight attendant in the cabin in evacuating passengers.
CRJ200 flight crew reports smoke filling the cabin and cockpit after the second engine is started; with the APU bleed supplying the packs. The packs are switched to the engines as the APU EGT is pegged in the red and CFR is called. With little improvement the Captain orders an evacuation; possibly after the passengers have self initiated.