Asphyxiating A Fire
In some cases, the use of water is undesirable:
- some chemical products react with water and produce poisonous gases, or even burn in contact with water (e.g., sodium);
- some products float on water, e.g., hydrocarbons (gasoline, oil, alcohol, etc.); a burning layer can then spread and extend;
- in case of a pressurised fuel tank, it is necessary to avoid heat shocks that may damage the tank: the resulting decompression may produce a BLEVE;
- electrical fires where water would act as a conductor.
It is then necessary to asphyxiate the fire. This can be done in different ways:
- some chemical products react with the fuel and stop the combustion;
- a layer of water-based fire retardant foam is projected on the product by the fire hose, to keep the oxygen in air separated from the fuel;
- carbon dioxide.
Read more about this topic: Fire Fighting
Famous quotes containing the word fire:
“How the cold creeps as the fire dies at length
How drifts are piled,
Dooryard and road ungraded,
Till even the comforting barn grows far away,
And my heart owns a doubt
Whether tis in us to arise with day
And save ourselves unaided.”
—Robert Frost (18741963)