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Path: utzoo!utcs!mnetor!clewis
From: clewis@mnetor.UUCP (Chris Lewis)
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.legal
Subject: Re: Smoking in public?
Message-ID: <603@mnetor.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 16-May-85 10:09:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: mnetor.603
Posted: Thu May 16 10:09:33 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 16-May-85 11:21:50 EDT
References: <473@nmtvax.UUCP> <917@trwatf.UUCP> <413@ho95b.UUCP>
Reply-To: clewis@mnetor.UUCP (Chris Lewis)
Organization: Computer X (CANADA) Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Lines: 35
Xref: utcs net.flame:9581 net.legal:1704
Summary: 

In article <413@ho95b.UUCP> wcs@ho95b.UUCP (Bill Stewart) writes:
>This is enough to put out the fire without killing you (at least not
>rapidly.)  However, the stuff is heavier than air; unlike regular fire

A friend of my wife's works at an installation (in Mountain View CA.)
where the Fire Insurance company insisted that the doors be
automatically locked when the Halon dumps.  Seems reasonable to prevent
people from walking into the Halon-filled room doesn't it?  Wrongo,
they insisted that the doors not be opennable from the inside!
Presumeably because they don't want somebody openning the door and
letting all of the Halon out.  So, the equipment survives but the poor
suckers caught inside might not.  This is because if the room isn't
sealed well enough the fire will continue anyways, and if the room is
really sealed well, the Halon plus a really greedy hot fire might
reduce the oxygen content well below breathability before the fire goes
out.  Besides, oxygen lack while waiting for the doors to be openned
from outside may make you collapse - into the Halon cloud.

Fortunately the Halon systems that I have worked around give you
lots of rather loud warnings before they actuate anything.  I knew
of a site where the Halon has dumped accidentally twice and the
operators ran the system by dashing in and out to the system console
and tape drives.

I know that Halon isn't poisonous, and I know that it is designed
to not reduce the oxygen content below breathability (when dealing
with most fires), but breathing it without much oxygen for any length 
of time ain't healthy.

I think that the Fire Insurance company changed the requirements
after all of the employees screamed a lot.
-- 
Chris Lewis,
UUCP: {allegra, linus, ihnp4}!utzoo!mnetor!clewis
BELL: (416)-475-8980 ext. 321