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Why is water not used to put out fire caused by petroleum products?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
The fuel (oil, gasoline, etc) is typically trapped in an absorbent material or lying on a surface that is preventing it from burning (by sinking away heat).
Petroleum products have lower densities than water, i.e. they float on top of water. When you add water, it soaks down into the materials present, which causes the fuel to float to the surface. The high temperature causes the water to boil and project bits of fuel and water droplets into the air. If it's hot enough, this will cause the fire to blaze up; otherwise it usually just spreads the fire around.
Hence, fires caused by petroleum products are extinguished by solid or gas fire suppressants (sand, foam ect.) as it forms a layer over the petroleum product on fire, thereby, cutting out the oxygen supply needed for it to continue to burn.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
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