B737 MAX 8 flight crew reported a brake fire on taxi into the gate. Flight crew reported fire extinguished on its own.
Synopsis
B737 MAX 8 flight crew reported a brake fire on taxi into the gate. Flight crew reported fire extinguished on its own.
Narrative
Once parked at the gate in ZZZ the ground crew informed me there was a flickering fire on the brakes. We called ops; requested fire trucks; and I kept my window open for communication with the ramp crew. I then informed the FA's of the situation; and told them to deplane normally since we had zero indications in the flight deck of an emergency; and the ground crew said the fire had; as far as they could tell; extinguished on its own. We looked in the QRC and QRH for any checklist that would provide safety or guidance. But as you and I know; there are no fire fighting capability in the wheel well of brakes of the 737. The fire trucks arrived quickly and monitored the situation; since there was no fire for them to extinguish. The temperature around the brakes was actually very cool; I've felt much hotter on post flight inspections when I was a FO. We landed runway XX; flaps 30 brakes 3; exited taxiway 1; the OAT was 27 Celsius / 81 Fahrenheit. Since we were in a max; I didn't have to add much power to taxi to gate XX. As far as I can tell; everything was very normal; with no undue stress on the brakes. I taxied in on both engines; since we were close to the recommended cool down time; so in the interest of simplicity I elected not to shutdown an engine just short of the gate. There was a small shutter when stopping to park. I'm happy to talk with anyone about this event; I am a new captain and am really want to do an exemplary job and avoid situations like this in the future. Cause: I honestly don't know why this happened. Ive seen and done (as FO and CA) much longer and more demanding on the brakes; taxiing in the past. I appreciated that the ground crew alerted me quickly; and that the fire trucks arrived so fast.
Second reporter narrative
I was pilot flying this leg. The approach was flown to runway XX in ZZZ using flaps 30 and autobrake 3; I used normal braking pressure after touchdown and so did the captain after she took control. We exited the runway around taxiway XX. The taxi in was relatively short distance and at a normal pace; we taxied on both engines to the gate.Upon parking at gate XX; a small shudder was felt by us in the last few feet as we were coming to a stop on the parking line.Shortly after we stopped; a ramper on the left side of the aircraft indicated to the captain that we had a fire on one of the main landing gear. I could not hear the rampers' side of the conversation but the captain told them to go get a fire extinguisher. it's my understanding they did not use the extinguisher as the fire extinguished on its own shortly afterwards.During this conversation; I called Ramp Control and told them to bring the fire trucks out. Afterwards; I began looking through the QRC and QRH for an appropriate procedure but could not find one; meanwhile the captain spoke to the flight attendants and informed them of the situation. The captain then began looking for a procedure as well and we both agreed that there wasn't much more that we could do for/to the aircraft.Cause: The shudder upon parking was an indication that the brakes were hot but by that time it would seem the fire had already started and it was the first and only indication we had that something was abnormal. If we had known sooner then we could have perhaps brought the aircraft to a stop for a few minutes to allow the brakes to cool the the engine cool down to complete so we could taxi single engine; especially in a MAX aircraft which is eager to move even under idle thrust.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.