Replies

Halon removes all the oxygen from the air, and the fire dies immediately. However, any personnel in the same space must also leave immediately or they will suffocate due to lack of oxygen. Unless the crew has another source of breathing supplies, they will need to exit the vehicle until it is aired out.

This is a myth that was disproven after the Doha incident, which followed Desert Storm. An unprotected individual can stand in the middle of a Halon deployment for 20 minutes without any ill effects. The causal event of the Doha incident, which occured when a fully uploaded ammo carrier exploded in a cantonement area killing 3 and destroying 72 armored and thin skin vehicles, was a combination of this urban legend and the disengagement of the system by a crew that didn't know better.

I don't know if it is a myth. That's what we were told. When the Halon unit fires, we were to leave the building, which we would probably have done anyway due to the fire. We would re-enter the building after it had been aired out. Halon is not poisonous, but it displaces oxygen. It puts out the fire, and can put you out, too.

I have been inside the tank when the Halon system malfunctioned and went off right in my face during gunnery. Obviously it does not kill you immediately, however I passed out and my crew members had to remove me from the tank. There is no way a person can survive for 20 minutes with no oxygen.