Survival tips: fires (II).
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On the other hand, you should take into account that there are three elements that should combine together in order to enable a fire to exist:
4.1.4)- Combustibles (see 2.1.1.3).
4.1.5)- Oxygen.
4.1.6)- Heat or energy.
For example, during an earthquake, plumbing usually get damaged, and that produces leaks of gas, fuel, etc. This, combined with the oxygen contained in the atmosphere makes up for 66% of the equation.
A small spark coming from damaged electric lines will then be more than enough to cause a fire, and that is one of the reasons why we see fires after earthquakes, explosions, and other occasions when masonry gets damaged.
But in the same light, it will usually be enough to take one of those factors out of the equation to put out the fire altogether, albeit that may not be easy at all and does not work like it should all the time.
Paraffin, alcohol and lighter-than-water fuels won't be extinguished by the use of water, which in most cases is effective because it removes the oxygen from the system. In such cases, adequate extinguishers, sand or dirt may be needed to kill the flames.
Ironically, water can even function has an hypergol and actually produce fires. A hypergol is a component of an hypergolic pair, which is a combination of two given substances that react violently when they enter in contact.
