Halon Fire Suppression Deaths

Prior to the incident the company had decommissioned a system at an infirmary satellite facility that used high pressure halon gas to suppress fire.

Halon fire suppression deaths.

Very high temperature flame or contact with red hot metal can cause decomposition of halon 1301 to toxic byproducts. Halon is a liquefied compressed gas that stops the spread of fire by chemically disrupting combustion. Halon is a clean agent the national fire protection association defines a clean agent as an electrically non conducting volatile or gaseous fire extinguishant that does not leave a residue upon evaporation. For many years halon 1301 was the holy grail of fire suppressants for high value assets that would be damaged by traditional sprinkler systems.

However halon 1301 fire suppression is not completely non toxic. Carbon dioxide has been used extensively for many years in the special hazard fire protection industry worldwide. A 300 pound halon tank from that system was. Environmental protection agency subsequently banned its manufacture in 1994 the search was on for.

But in 1989 when the montreal protocol determined that halon depleted the ozone layer and the u s. Between the 1920s and 1960s carbon dioxide was the only gaseous fire suppression agent used to any degree but halon based systems were used extensively beginning in the 1960s.