Yes. One place I worked (not a tech company, but with tons of electronics), when the fire alarms went off we had xx seconds (I don't remember the number) to get out of the building before something called Intergen was vented into the room to somehow suck all of the oxygen out, and if we were still inside we'd be dead.
It must be pretty serious stuff, because we'd have evacuation drills twice a year.
I think the concern likely comes from:
-Folks that are of poor cardiac function are going to be evacuating, meaning increased cardiac demand under stress, while being somewhat oxygen-starved. This could tip some folks into an acute episode that otherwise wouldn't.
-Folks that are of poor oxygen function, who are borderline hypoxemic to begin with. Think folks with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder: about 5% of your employees aged 55-65 will have it.
You won't suddenly kill a building full of people. I'm guessing the evacuation rush is to make sure they're not liable for unnecessarily sending a couple to the hospital.
To put that in perspective, that's like being sent to the top of Pikes Peak (4.3km / 14,000') in seconds. Pilots flying that high in unpressurized aircraft are required to have oxygen masks. Most people will develop altitude sickness when rapidly subjected to that.
When you consider the potential for stress or panic in this kind of scenario, hypoxia emerges as a very real threat even for the young and healthy.
That's an important caveat, given how the danger was apparently greatly exaggerated.
If you've been told that the system will
> somehow suck all of the oxygen out, and if we were still inside we'd be dead
then what are you going to do in a real fire situation, when you're not in imminent danger but your escape route is blocked by flames? Better to brave the fire (or jump out a window) than submit to death by suffocation...
