He would have thought finding it would be easy, as the air in theory is all rushing to get out that way.  However, he had learned along the way that this was not entirely reliable because of convection currents.  Movement of air was caused by pressure, not, as the layman thinks, by vacuum.  Because the pressure is effectively (not actually) zero on the other side of the breach, the higher pressure air just within the breach forces its way out.  That force can be strong enough to shift the ship itself, but more significantly it reduces the pressure immediately around the breach.  Air surrounding it presses in to fill the low pressure area, and it in turn is replaced by air surrounding it--but this was where it got tricky.  When there was gravity, or any semblance of it, warm air would rise and cold air would sink, and the atmospheric pressure was slightly different at different levels in the room.  Thus the more pressurized air would move toward the breach, but less pressurized air would move to fill the newly created reduced pressure area.  This frequently resulted in air at different levels in the room moving in different directions, some of it moving away from the breach to replace the reduced pressure created by the breach.  This action became more confusing farther from the breach, as air pressure and temperature were factors in what air moved where.

There were bulkheads within the ship, hatches strong enough to withstand depressurization.  Many of them were kept closed routinely, but because opening a bulkhead hatch was a complicated process many were left open to allow crew to move freely between sections.  Some of these were designed to close automatically, but most had to be closed by someone.  Also, because of the nature of depressurization once a bulkhead was closed it was difficult to reopen it without equalizing the pressure on both sides.  Still, the longer they remained open the more air vented into space.

But closing bulkheads was a stopgap measure.  Finding the breach and patching it was critical.

There were, scattered about the ship in the corridors and rooms nearest the outer hull, emergency stations containing quick patch materials.  He had seen the equipment and been briefly instructed in its use, but for obvious reasons had never actually used it or seen it used.  Still, it was the best bet for patching the breach, and he should grab some in case he was first to locate the breach or no one else had any.

It struck him that for the past perhaps three minutes he had been alone in the passageway--he had encountered no one since he rescued the crewman near his cabin.  Of course, some crewmen had specific assignments--navigation, engineering, piloting, all necessary during the emergency.  Others were possibly locked down behind closed bulkheads.  There was no way to know who was actually trying to find the breach, or where they were.

Coming to an emergency station, he opened it and grabbed some supplies.  Double-checking in his mind whether this was everything, he closed the cabinet and continued moving.  Then he stopped.  The pressure suit limited his ability to feel the movement of the atmosphere.  Setting down the larger pieces of equipment, he cracked open a packet of chaff and released it into the air.  It danced around wildly, and quickly scattered, but in a moment he could see that despite its swirling chaotic action, a sizable portion was moving to an open hatch two doors down.  He grabbed his patching equipment and hastened to the open room.

The force of moving air through the hatch nearly blew him off his feet, but he managed to get through.  His chaff was dancing wildly in here, but heading toward a substantial crack in the far wall.

The hatch--what should he do with it?  If he left it open, air would continue to vent from the ship through the room to the outside, both creating a stiff wind in the room and costing the ship precious gasses.  On the other hand, if he closed it this room would continue to depressurize.  It would be difficult to reopen the bulkhead against the pressure if he needed to get back--particularly if he was unable to effect the repair.  Also, somewhere in the back of his mind he seemed to recall that the difference in pressure was a factor in making the patch work.

He decided that this meant he was going to have to work fast.  Save the ship, save the crew:  close the bulkhead.

He closed it.

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