Leaving the house when fighting

My husband and I rarely fight, but when we do, it tends to escalate. No physical violence, threats or name calling, no talk of divorce or I hate you etc... but we do yell. Not ok when theres kids, I 100% agree, you dont have to tell me that, but it does happen maybe 2-4x a year. Anyway, my husband will grab his keys and get in his car and leave. Well that makes our kids crazy upset. Hes never left for more than maybe 2 or 3 hours, usually less, and usually we stop fighting by the end of the day, and I always reassure them that daddy is just upset and sometimes we need space to calm down. Well last time my 8 year old really had a break down and said hes never going to see his dad again, despite me assuring him otherwise. He was sobbing and panicking. Afterwards, I told my husband no more storming out because it upsets them even more than the yelling. That if he really needs to take space, do it after the kids are asleep or sit outside where the kids can see him.

Well,,we just had our first fight in probably 6 months and it happened again. I asked my husband again not to leave as he was walking out because it upsets the kids too much, but he said he couldnt stay in the house and he left. Not for long, maybe an hour, but our son was freaking out crying and pacing around and my daughter kept asking where he is (he works from home so theyre used to him being home). He came back cooled off and we seem ok now, but my question is, do you think it's healthy for one spouse to leave to deescalate and cool off during a fight, or is it just causing more harm than good? If you do leave, how to you reassure the kids effectively?

Btw we do intend to get counseling, it's just difficult at the moment because we moved overseas to my husband's country of origin, and I do not speak the language well yet. We went to 1 session with my husband trying to translate everything back and forth, and it was difficult to communicate, we are trying to find someone local fluent in English but it hasnt happened yet.