Narrative:

As captain; I was the pilot flying. A 'fire cargo fwd' EICAS message appeared. We followed the QRH checklist. As per my direction; the relief pilot; the pilot not flying; called ATC and declared an emergency. I called back to the crew rest bunk to have the first officer come back to the cockpit. I elected to divert to ZZZ because it was the closest suitable alternate. The relief pilot asked ATC for clearance to the divert airport. I turned the aircraft toward that airport. ATC cleared us to the divert airport. The first officer came back into the cockpit. We proceeded to the divert airport and landed without further incident. The event occurred just as the relief pilot was sitting down from getting our meals. The fire cargo fwd light remained illuminated through the entire event. I contacted dispatch to inform of the deviation and confirm with her to suitability of the airport as an alternate. The first officer came back to the cockpit was briefed and became the pilot flying. I then briefed the purser as to the type of emergency; evacuation possibilities; signal to be used; and time remaining airborne. I made a PA to the passengers that we were diverting and to follow the flight attendant directions. I requested fire fighters to meet the aircraft through ATC and dispatch. We began the decent and briefed the weather; VMC; and the approach. I asked the first officer and relief pilot if they could think of anything that we missed. We continued the approach; ILS 23; and landing; nice; and taxied clear of the runway and stopped on the taxiway so arff could look for any signs of fire. There were none! I taxied to the ramp with arff in tow; air stairs were brought to the aircraft and the passengers deplaned.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B-777 EICAS alerted CARGO FIRE FWD at cruise; so an emergency was declared; a diversion to a nearby airport begun and the QRH completed followed by an uneventful landing. An actual fire was not detected by Fire Fighters.

Narrative: As Captain; I was the pilot flying. A 'FIRE CARGO FWD' EICAS message appeared. We followed the QRH checklist. As per my direction; the Relief Pilot; the pilot not flying; called ATC and declared an Emergency. I called back to the crew rest bunk to have the First Officer come back to the cockpit. I elected to divert to ZZZ because it was the closest suitable alternate. The Relief Pilot asked ATC for clearance to the divert airport. I turned the aircraft toward that airport. ATC cleared us to the divert airport. The First Officer came back into the cockpit. We proceeded to the divert airport and landed without further incident. The event occurred just as the Relief Pilot was sitting down from getting our meals. The FIRE CARGO FWD light remained illuminated through the entire event. I contacted Dispatch to inform of the deviation and confirm with her to suitability of the airport as an alternate. The First Officer came back to the cockpit was briefed and became the pilot flying. I then briefed the Purser as to the type of emergency; evacuation possibilities; signal to be used; and time remaining airborne. I made a PA to the passengers that we were diverting and to follow the flight attendant directions. I requested Fire Fighters to meet the aircraft through ATC and Dispatch. We began the decent and briefed the weather; VMC; and the approach. I asked the First Officer and Relief Pilot if they could think of anything that we missed. We continued the approach; ILS 23; and landing; nice; and taxied clear of the runway and stopped on the taxiway so ARFF could look for any signs of fire. There were none! I taxied to the ramp with ARFF in tow; air stairs were brought to the aircraft and the passengers deplaned.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.