Fire Fighting - Asphyxiating A Fire

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:

    “Man, became man through work, who stepped out of the animal kingdom as transformer of the natural into the artificial, who became therefore the magician, man the creator of social reality, will always stay the great magician, will always be Prometheus bringing fire from heaven to earth, will always be Orpheus enthralling nature with his music. Not until humanity itself dies will art die.”
    —Ernst Fischer (1899–1972)