Because water is heavier than oil, it cannot put out fires caused by burning fuel and oil. It falls below the oil particles and is unable to lower the ignition temperature of the substance or shut off the supply of oxygen to the fire. As a result, the oil on the top continues to burn.
Liquid petrol is less dense than water and so the burning petrol would simply float on the water to wherever the water flows to, spreading the flames, not extinguishing them. 9 3 Sponsored by American Health Care Academy
Why, water cannot be used to extinguish petrol fires?
Verified by Toppr. As water is heavier than petrol therefore slips down permitting the petrol to rise to the surface and continue to burn. Besides, the existing temperature is so high that the water poured on the fire evaporates even before it can extinguisher the fire. The latter is true if small quantity water is poured.
We can cut the supply of any of these three elements to extinguish the fire. Complete step by step answer: When we are applying water on a petrol fire, we cannot stop the supply of the basic three elements which are oxygen, fuel and heat. Since water is heavier than petrol, petrol will come above the water and continue the contact with the atmosphere (oxygen).
People Also Ask why water is not used to extinguish petrol fire
Will under water extinguish a petrol fire?
Water will extinguish a petrol fire if it’s sprayed on the fire with a fog nozzle. It cools the fuel until it can no longer keep burning, and the fire goes out. All fire departments use it when they can.
Can water fight a petroleum fire?
So, water can fight petroleum fires, but only under the right circumstances, and sometimes only with special additives. All the power, not all the cost. Amazon EC2 instances powered by AMD EPYC™ provide your compute workloads with the performance they need. , PhD. Physics & Studies in Antimatter, Australian National University (2025)
What would happen if you put liquid petrol in a fire?
Liquid petrol is less dense than water and so the burning petrol would simply float on the water to wherever the water flows to, spreading the flames, not extinguishing them. Firefighters recognize a “fire triangle” – the three things a fire needs if it’s to keep burning.
What happens when water is poured on a fire?
Besides, the existing temperature is so high that the water poured on the fire evaporates even before it can extinguisher the fire. The latter is true if small quantity water is poured.
People Also Searches why water is not used to extinguish petrol fire
DO YOU KNOW! The Petrol Fire Cannot be Extinguished by Water Video Answer
Reference:
https://www.usfa.fema.gov/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_extinguisher