Water is the easiest to use, most available and most universal suppression agent used today. The properties of water are what makes it such a good agent. No other agent can match the properties listed here:

Water is non-toxic. Water has a very high heat of vaporizationThe latent heat of vaporization of water is at least four times higher than any other non-flammable liquid. This essentially means it has a significantly higher ability to absorb heat than any other liquid that could be used to absorb heat from a fire. per unit mass. Water is capable of being stored at atmospheric temperatures and pressures. Water boils at a temperature that is significantly lower than the range of temperatures that solid objects create upon combustion.

Based on the facts listed above, water is unmatched in its ability to be a good suppression agent. This goes beyond the common theory that water is used so much because it is low cost and readily available.

NOTE: This is an unformatted excerpt from our online fire protection training library.