Combating the Myths of Fixed Halon 1301 Systems

I was at a customer's site the other day doing a fire suppression survey. They brought up that fact that all the Halon 1301 systems in the computer and data center's were removed. He said" That stuff will suck the oxygen out of the room" If I had $5 for every time I have heard that or "that Halon will kill you", I could but a new truck. Halon 1301 works by chemically disrupting combustion. Clean agent gasses such a as FM-200 and Novec 1230 work in a similar fashion. New production of Halon was banned in 1994. Existing Halon 1301 suppression  systems can be refilled and portable Halon fire extinguisher are still in use. The government still uses Halon in aircraft, but does not publish this information.I think the main reason people think Halon 1301 is dangerous, is lack of education and knowledge of how it suppresses the fire. As industry professionals we should educate ourselves, the public, our customers and first responders how the fire suppression system operate and the hazards to humans. Educating the customer on their current suppression systems and options for upgrades will open the door for future sales. Remind customers that Halon 1301 will NOT suck out all the oxygen or kill you. They do need to exit the space if there is a fire as to not breath in the products of combustion. There are other fire suppression options such as aerosol and water mist systems that use different technologies. I like to use the best product for the particular customer's application and budget.