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Two fire technicians at the National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station in Antarctica have been pronounced dead following an incident at a generator building that powers a radio transmitter near the station.
The incident, which still is under investigation, occurred on Dec. 12 local time (McMurdo Station keeps New Zealand time).
NSF is not releasing any personal information about the deceased at this time. Their next of kin have been notified.
The workers were performing preventative maintenance on the building's fire suppression system. They were found unconscious on the building's floor by a helicopter pilot, who landed after seeing what appeared to be smoke coming from the structure. They were removed from the building and CPR was administered. One person was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel who arrived from the McMurdo clinic. The other was flown to the McMurdo clinic and pronounced dead there a short time later.
Two contract employees die in Antarctica
(Score: 2) by VLM on Thursday December 13 2018, @12:19PM (18 children)
My first guess was the dreaded carbon monoxide, but
I assume thats corporate speak for firemen, and they generally know about CO.
Maybe the building collapsed on them?
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday December 13 2018, @02:40PM
But it was always burning...
fire suppression systems generally deprive a space of oxygen, which is rather essential to the fire of life.
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(Score: 4, Interesting) by damnbunni on Thursday December 13 2018, @03:08PM (1 child)
They were techs working on the fire suppression system.
Maybe suppressant leaked?
What do they use down there, halon or the equivalent? I bet it's not a sprinkler system.
(Score: 1, Troll) by DannyB on Thursday December 13 2018, @03:30PM
But halon is not very politically correct. Sprinklers are more appropriate for snowflakes.
The anti vax hysteria didn't stop, it just died down.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by MindEscapes on Thursday December 13 2018, @03:12PM (5 children)
Nah, given they were found unconscious in an enclosed space with a fire suppression system, I suspect oxygen displacement with an inert gas. Possibly from the fire suppression system itself. Or maybe some other gas buildup pushing oxygen out. Training we've had at work suggests that the impact of low oxygen can black you out in seconds. One may have gone in and collapsed. The other went in to help the first and collapsed too. Sad way to go. At least it is relatively painless. Of course, the one that died in the hospital after some CPR may have been brought back enough to experience some pain. A very sad situation :(
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(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday December 13 2018, @03:33PM (4 children)
Seriously: use a technique described in the bible for the high priest who goes into the most holy place once a year, where nobody is allowed to go except on this occasion, and could potentially be struck dead. He would have a long rope tied around his ankle. His colleagues could then pull out the body using the rope.
Two fire technicians tied together by a rope at the ankle. One goes in first. The second goes in a short time later.
The anti vax hysteria didn't stop, it just died down.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday December 13 2018, @07:10PM (1 child)
Talk about a proud ending for a top figure ... Can you picture what a dead guy in robes dragged by one of his ankles looks like ? I hope they at least made it mandatory to go to the bathroom, and put some clean underwear, first.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @08:56PM
That practice predates the development of underwear.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @09:13PM (1 child)
Sounded interesting but seems made up, its definately not in the bible:
https://blog.bibleplaces.com/2009/01/that-rope-around-high-priests-ankle.html [bibleplaces.com]
And I dont think worshipping an ancient nuclear warhead too closely will kill you immediately, it would take a couple days.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @09:42PM
Check the Satanic Bible, it might be in there. (well the poster didn't say which bible it was in...)
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Thursday December 13 2018, @03:14PM (7 children)
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday December 13 2018, @03:37PM (1 child)
I suspect that all buildings, including the generator building, in Antarctica are built pretty 'tight'. That is, free of drafts. The air in the building is not changed cycled in and out as frequently as most other buildings on earth.
The anti vax hysteria didn't stop, it just died down.
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Thursday December 13 2018, @05:17PM
(Score: 5, Informative) by suburbanitemediocrity on Thursday December 13 2018, @05:35PM (4 children)
I've worked at two different locations where three people have died from asphyxiation (Helium).
The suffocation feeling that you get when you hold your breath comes from the inability to expel CO2, not from the lack of Oxygen, so as long as you are respiring normally, your body thinks everything is fine until you pass out.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @07:30PM (3 children)
I can second this.
I blacked out in a fraction of second just a little bit after deeply inhaling balloon gas and causing hilarity by speaking in a squeaky voice.
I was walking, suddenly got tunnel vision, and collapsed in mid walk.
You don't see it coming. I came to pretty quickly afterward, but I hit the floor like a ton of bricks.
This is why I don't let anybody do the balloon trick around me. It's dangerous and people don't even know it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @07:51PM (2 children)
The typical number quoted in survival training is that you can survive 3 minutes without oxygen.
However losing consciousness is another story. This can occur almost instantly if you enter, say, a pure nitrogen atmosphere and breathe normally. The problem is that if you lose consciousness, you become unable to take any action to remove yourself from danger. So you pass out in an oxygen-deprived atmosphere and then die a few minutes later. Insufficent oxygen can also quickly make you go delusional and become unable to recognize the danger to remove yourself from it.
Inhaling once from a party balloon, while seated, and surrounded by other people is extraordinarily unlikely to cause any problem. It is probably more dangerous to cross a street.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @08:42PM
You are adding all sorts of safety restrictions to the balloon inhalation stunt.
My point is that almost nobody is EVEN AWARE that they need any.
I am just doing my bit to educate people that you can indeed pass out from this stunt.
I think that is important, but hey, what would I know.
(Score: 3, Informative) by suburbanitemediocrity on Thursday December 13 2018, @09:16PM
My neighbor had a heart attack and passed out while they were standing up. They recovered fine from the heart attack, but were disabled from the injuries sustained in the resulting fall to the floor.
(Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday December 13 2018, @03:28PM
An alternate interpretation is arsonists.
The anti vax hysteria didn't stop, it just died down.