Fire Extinguishing Methods

Fires can be extinguished in one or four ways:

1. By cooling: Water is used to cool the burning material below the temperature at which it starts to burn.
2. By smothering: Carbon dioxide (CO2) or foaming agents are used to smother the burning material so that air is excluded.
3. By removing the fuel: This is usually very difficult to do. An “easy” example is turning off a fuel line.
4. By disrupting the chemical chain reaction or interrupting the flame: Dry chemicals or halon are used to do this.