The Fire Triangle and How to Extinguish Fires

The fire triangle is a graphical device for understanding the needed components to cause and sustain a fire. Each of the three legs of the triangle represent one of three needed elements, namely, heat, an oxidizing agent and fuel. A fire can only burn if all three elements are present and, by extension, fire fighting involves depriving the fire of one of the elements.

The removal of heat is a common fire fighting tactic. For instance, spraying water on a fire cools everything down and prohibits the fire from continuing to burn. If you imagine a burning building with fire fighters using fire hoses, you can see the that there is plenty of fuel in the form of wood, drywall, etc. and there is plenty of oxygen in the surrounding air but the water being applied removes the heat and the fire is eventually defeated.

Removal of fuel is a second way to defeat fires. This method is used frequently when combating grass fires like those that seem so frequent in California. It is impossible to remove the oxygen as it is in the surrounding air but by creating fire breaks the flames can be contained. A fire break is constructed by removing all the fuel, in the case grass, in a long, wide path or strip around the fire. When the fire burns up to the break it will extinguish as it has burnt all the fuel behind it and can't burn the bare ground in front of it. Lacking a source of fuel, the fire goes out. The concept is also used to stop forest fires although the breaks must be wider to be effective.

Removing oxygen is the final way to extinguish a fire. You may have used this method yourself if you have ever had a grease fire in a pan or pot. By simply putting the lid on the pot, the fire goes out. It still has fuel, your food, and has heat but it rapidly consumes all the oxygen in the pot. Of course, the lid is not air tight and oxygen is streaming in to replace the consumed oxygen but it is doing so at rate that is not sufficient to sustain the fire.

Removing oxygen is also a way to prevent fires. When a camp fire is finished we are all advised to cover it with dirt. The dirt prevents the oxygen from reaching the coals and continuing to burn. The dirt also prevents new fuel from falling into the hot coals and starting a new, larger fire.

For more information on fire safety equipment please visit Brothers Fire Protection or call 800-607-2767.

Article independently authored by Eric Parish. The content herein may or may not reflect the views and opinions of Brothers Fire Protection. Click for search engine optimization and search engine marketing or visit WebDrafter.com's Blog.