Sage-Tips

Why do firefighters use a mist of water instead of a heavy stream?

It has the added benefit of shielding firefighters; the cloud of mist is very effective at absorbing radiated heat that can otherwise make it impossible to get close to a major fire.

Why do firefighters spray water?

Using water is one common method to extinguish a fire. Water extinguishes a fire by cooling, which removes heat because of water’s ability to absorb massive amounts of heat as it converts to water vapor. Without heat, the fuel cannot keep the oxidizer from reducing the fuel in order to sustain the fire.

How do firefighters put out fires without water?

Some firefighters use foam as an alternative to water. Fire extinguishers also use foam to fight fires. Removing the fuel is another fire fighting method. In learning to fight a fire, you often have to let the fuel burn until the fire goes out.

What are the problems with water mist systems?

Not only will water mist systems control room temperature and convert the droplets into steam, suffocating the fire, but water damage from water mist systems as compared to ordinary water sprinklers is lowered considerably.

What do firemen use to put out fires?

Firefighters control a fire’s spread (or put it out) by removing one of the three ingredients fire needs to burn: heat, oxygen, or fuel. They remove heat by applying water or fire retardant on the ground (using pumps or special wildland fire engines) or by air (using helicopters/airplanes).

What do firefighters put out fires with?

Why do firefighters start fires to put out?

Firefighters set backfires to stop the spread or change the direction of a wildfire. This is done by burning the fuel (grass, brush, trees, etc.) in front of a wildfire so it has nothing to burn when it reaches that point. Firefighters use a variety of tools to accomplish this.

How does water mist work?

A water mist system is a fire protection system which uses very fine water sprays (i.e. water mist). The small water droplets allow the water mist to control, suppress or extinguish fires by: cooling both the flame and surrounding gases by evaporation. displacing oxygen by evaporation.

Where are water mist systems used?

Common Applications Typical applications, we see them going into some data centers out there, museums and theaters. Some historic homes have chosen water mist systems to have less water damage, and then large office buildings, so buildings companies are building that are high technology users.

Why do firefighters use water to put out fires?

All firefighters should know that we use water on structure fires to remove heat from the fire triangle by absorbing the heat in the room and cooling the available fuel. But do you know that roughly 90 percent of the water hits the floor after passing through the room’s atmosphere, and that includes the water that hits the target?

Should CAFS be the first tactical fire stream for interior structural firefighting?

The fire service needs to examine the facts regarding CAFS and consider making the CAFS the first tactical fire stream for interior structural firefighting. Here are five reasons why. CAFS reduces the amount of water used for fire suppression. CAFS reduces air pollution and reduces firefighter exposure to airborne carcinogens.

What percentage of the water in a fire extinguisher is penetrating?

That’s right, only about 10 percent of the water is penetrating the fuel to absorb heat and cool the fuel below the temperature required for sustained burning. CAFS uses a Class A foam concentrate, combined with water and compressed air to form a fire extinguishing agent that is greater than the sum of its parts.

What is the surfactant in the CAFS fire stream?

And, the surfactant in the CAFS fire stream is chemically attractive to the carbon molecule contained in smoke. Every molecule of the CAFS solution that comes in contact with smoke binds a molecule of carbon.