I really enjoyed having the safety brief to read to learn more about in-flight electrical fires. Sometimes reading checklists or reading out of the PIM gets boring, and may not be fully understood why we do what we do in case of emergencies. This brief helped outline different kinds of electrical fires and how to look out for them.
A short circuit means that electricity is flowing alont a different path than the one intended. Electric current is constantly trying to find the easiest way back to its source. The current will take any opportunity it has, which can mean arcing between an exposed or damaged wire and a different circuit, or directly to a ground source like the aircraft structure. This can cause extreme damage.
Our procedure in the Seminole outlines what should be turned off and when, and which circuit breakers to pull in a certain order. It goes on to shot a checklist of what to do if electrical power is needed for continuation of the flight (attempting to reenergize the system). The safety brief is more general. It says to advise ATC first, turn off electrical switches, pull circuit breakers of affected components that aren't essential to flight, DO NOT reset non essential circuit breakers, and use fire extinguisher as needed. The brief is more of a "test everything to see what the culprit is" as opposed to our checklist, which is specific and to the point.
In the future, if I have an electrical fire, I will first fly the plane, advise ATC, and go through our checklist. During this time, I will try and determine what the source is, but if it is not obvious, I will stick with the checklist and land as soon as possible. I will use the fire extinguisher if I have to.
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