An emb-145 first officer conducting the 10;000 ft APU shutdown climb checklist inadvertently selecte...

Attributes
ACN	1110833
Time
Date	201308
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	EMB ERJ 145 ER/LR
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Fire Protection System
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Other / Unknown

Narrative:

Inadvertent deployment of baggage fire bottle. The non-flying pilot was attempting to shut down the APU as usual climbing through 10;000 ft. The fire test button was selected instead. This caused the baggage smoke warnings to be generated; so I followed the memory item and pressed the lit baggage fire extinguishing button. The fire test was selected because it's similarly shaped and located just above the normal button we use to shut down the APU. My adrenaline was going and so I rushed and did an unnecessary memory item.possibly changing the design of one of the switches. Also; better discipline when it comes to dealing with possible emergency scenarios. Take an extra moment to let the adrenaline subside; reevaluate the situation; and coordinate with the other crew.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An EMB-145 First Officer conducting the 10;000 FT APU shutdown Climb Checklist inadvertently selected the Baggage Smoke Warning test switch; which is similar in shape and location to the APU switch. The Captain then discharged the baggage fire bottle in response to the BAGGAGE SMOKE WARNING test.

Narrative: Inadvertent deployment of baggage fire bottle. The non-flying pilot was attempting to shut down the APU as usual climbing through 10;000 FT. The fire test button was selected instead. This caused the baggage smoke warnings to be generated; so I followed the memory item and pressed the lit baggage fire extinguishing button. The fire test was selected because it's similarly shaped and located just above the normal button we use to shut down the APU. My adrenaline was going and so I rushed and did an unnecessary memory item.Possibly changing the design of one of the switches. Also; better discipline when it comes to dealing with possible emergency scenarios. Take an extra moment to let the adrenaline subside; reevaluate the situation; and coordinate with the other crew.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

An emb-145 first officer conducting the 10;000 ft APU shutdown climb checklist inadvertently selected the baggage smoke warning test switch; which is similar in shape and location to the APU switch. The captain then discharged the baggage fire bottle in response to the baggage smoke warning test.