The very large heat of vaporization of water is the reason why water is particularly suitable for extinguishing a fire. When water is poured onto the fire site, the water is not only heated, but also vaporized. As explained, the water requires a great deal of heat specifically for vaporization. This energy is supplied by the fire site.
The water molecule doesn’t become hot enough to separate into hydrogen and oxygen and instead, has two potential actions on the fire that can put it out. Firstly, it absorbs the heat from the fire. This is the main method by which water extinguishes fire. Room temperature water is about 77 degrees Fahrenheit and water won’t become steam until it hits 212 degrees …
Why does hot water extinguish fire? – Quora
Because hot water is still way colder than the fire. Hot water absorbs a bit less energy before boiling, but not that much less. Water extinguishes fire because it has very high heat capacity (the amount of energy it must absorb to increase in temperature a given amount) and very high heat of vaporization (the amount of energy needed to convert it from a liquid to a gas).
Putting water on fire, cools down the fire by absorbing heat (energy) to transform from liquid to gas. Additionally, as soon as liquid water is converted into vapor, it establishes a barrier among the burning gas and atmospheric oxygen. So from here it is clear that water changes from liquid to gas to halt fire from spreading.
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How does water extinguish fire?
This is the main method by which water extinguishes fire. Room temperature water is about 77 degrees Fahrenheit and water won’t become steam until it hits 212 degrees Fahrenheit (the boiling point of water).
Can water put out a fire?
However, we just need to stress again that water can’t put out all fires. While ordinary fires of solid material are often easily extinguished with water, electrical fires, oil or liquid fires, and metal fires should never be tackled with water. You are at a high risk of harming yourself, property, and others if you do so.
What is the least likely chemical to extinguish a fire?
Humble dihydrogen monoxide or H 2 O. This, at first glance, seems to be the least likely chemical on earth to extinguish fires with. After all – it’s made up of hydrogen and oxygen both of which are highly flammable. Why doesn’t it just break down into its constituent elements and make a fire worse, rather than extinguishing it?
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Reference:
https://www.usfa.fema.gov/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_extinguisher