An A319's number two engine fire warning alerted as the engine was being started and both bottles we...

Narrative:

During taxi-out abeam the fire station; the first officer began number 2 engine start. Almost immediately fire warning bell and ECAM engine 2 fire warning were annunciated. I stopped the aircraft; set the parking brake; and called for ECAM actions. The first officer performed ECAM actions. I stated 'flight attendants stations' on the PA and advised ground control we were declaring an emergency for engine 2 fire warning and to scramble the fire trucks. The fire warning ceased after the first officer fired the first fire bottle but came back almost immediately. He fired the second fire bottle and the fire warning ceased. Another aircraft behind us heard our condition and stated there was no fire or smoke present from our number 2 engine. The fire trucks arrived and stated on ground control frequency there was no fire or smoke indications and thermal imaging also revealed no hot spots. I told the lead flight attendant what we had and to advise if he saw anything abnormal. He did not. With concurrence of the fire chief we taxied back to the gate with fire trucks monitoring. I told the passengers we had experienced an engine malfunction and were returning to the gate. On arrival at the gate we shut down and deplaned the aircraft normally.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A319's number two engine fire warning alerted as the engine was being started and both bottles were fired; but another airline crew and Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting saw no signs of a fire. The aircraft was returned to the gate.

Narrative: During taxi-out abeam the fire station; the First Officer began number 2 engine start. Almost immediately fire warning bell and ECAM engine 2 fire warning were annunciated. I stopped the aircraft; set the parking brake; and called for ECAM actions. The First Officer performed ECAM actions. I stated 'Flight Attendants stations' on the PA and advised Ground Control we were declaring an emergency for engine 2 fire warning and to scramble the fire trucks. The fire warning ceased after the First Officer fired the first fire bottle but came back almost immediately. He fired the second fire bottle and the fire warning ceased. Another aircraft behind us heard our condition and stated there was no fire or smoke present from our number 2 engine. The fire trucks arrived and stated on Ground Control frequency there was no fire or smoke indications and thermal imaging also revealed no hot spots. I told the Lead Flight Attendant what we had and to advise if he saw anything abnormal. He did not. With concurrence of the fire chief we taxied back to the gate with fire trucks monitoring. I told the passengers we had experienced an engine malfunction and were returning to the gate. On arrival at the gate we shut down and deplaned the aircraft normally.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	921826
Time
Date	201012
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Powerplant Fire/Overheat Warning
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

An A319's number two engine fire warning alerted as the engine was being started and both bottles were fired; but another airline crew and airport rescue and fire fighting saw no signs of a fire. The aircraft was returned to the gate.