Yes, fuming is dangerous without proper ventilation. Just torching is dangerous without proper ventilation!
One thing many people do not realize is that having a hood in front of you may not be enough because of the "downstream eddy" effect. Think of a large rock (your head
) in a stream (the airflow from behind you). Behind the rock are eddies, actually going upstream, into your face.
I have attempted to remedy this with a small fan in a flexible duct that blows a flow of air between me and my torch. Its position is adjustable depending on what I am working on.
Since these pictures were taken, the main exhaust has been extended closer to the torch and has a large scoop on it.
I will post this in the studio forum also.
-Don-