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: Firefighting
Famous quotes containing the word fire:
“Is not prayer also a study of truth,—a sally of the soul into the unfound infinite? No man ever prayed heartily, without learning something. But when a faithful thinker, resolute to detach every object from personal relations, and see it in the light of thought, shall, at the same time, kindle science with the fire of the holiest affections, then will God go forth anew into creation.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)