[BC] Fire suppression

[Chuck Dube]

I have been in a small room where a Halon system went off (which probably 
explains a lot about me :)  Supposedly, the system was defeated when a 
carpenter was cutting some cabinetry for a different console. I just 
happened to be in there with him for the wrong minute. The noise of the saw 
was louder than the warning alarm which, of course, didn't sound in the 
studio. When the tank blew, it pulverized the ceiling tiles around it. It 
was over before
we knew what hit us. We exited the room dazed but OK, with eardrums still 
intact (which was a miracle).
The worst part about the ordeal was that the GM, who couldn't give a **** 
about my well being, wanted me to pay for the replacement halon (about 
$500), as if I had anything to do with defeating the system or not. *That* 
induced a rapid breathing rate and panic!

Chuck Dube
Amherst MA

From: RichardBJohnson at comcast.net

Halon replaces oxygen and cools as it evaporates. It is one of those 
"Freons" that the environmentalists want to get rid of. It is also 
non-poisonous, in fact, it doesn't get absorbed either through the lungs or 
the skin. Since it will REPLACE oxygen, it has a special problem for humans. 
The normal gas that would replace oxygen is carbon dioxide. The body 
responds to increases in CO2 concentration by increasing the breathing rate 
and inducing panic. The body ignores Halon. Therefore, if you are in a room 
where it has been discharged, you won't smell anything, you won't panic, you 
will just quietly expire if the oxygen has been displaced.