page_title: Firefighting
section_title: Use of water
hierarchical_section_title: Firefighting / Use of water
caption_attribution_description: English: Aircraft Rescue Firefighting Marines aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar begin to combat fires during a simulated fire exercise at the ARFF Training Pit here. Constant communication helped them put out the fires as safely and quickly as possible June 13-14. Français&#160;: Exercice de lutte contre l'incendie par des pompiers du corps des Marines des États-Unis, sur la base aérienne de Miramar. L'exercice consiste en un service de sauvetage et de lutte contre l'incendie des aéronefs, à la suite d'un tir simulé. Les pompiers sont en constante communication, ce qui les aide à éteindre les feux en toute sécurité et le plus rapidement possible. Polski: Marines z lotniskowej straży pożarnej rozpoczynają walkę z ogniem podczas ćwiczeń w bazie lotniczej w Miramar należącej do Korpusu Piechoty Morskiej Stanów Zjednoczonych.
context_page_description: Firefighting is the act of attempting to prevent the spread of and extinguish significant unwanted fires in buildings, vehicles, woodlands, etc. A firefighter suppresses fires to protect lives, property and the environment.
  Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural firefighting and wildland firefighting. Specialized training includes aircraft firefighting, shipboard firefighting, aerial firefighting, maritime firefighting, and proximity firefighting.
  One of the major hazards associated with firefighting operations is the toxic environment created by combustible materials. The four major risks are smoke, oxygen deficiency, elevated temperatures, and poisonous atmospheres. Additional hazards include falls and structural collapse that can exacerbate the problems encountered in a toxic environment. To combat some of these risks, firefighters carry self-contained breathing apparatus.
  The first step in a firefighting operation is reconnaissance to search for the origin of the fire and to identify the specific risks.
context_section_description: One common way to extinguish a fire is to spray it with water. The water has two roles: It vaporizes when it comes in contact with fire, and this vapor displaces the oxygen (the volume of water vapor is 1,700 times greater than liquid water, at 1,000 °F (538 °C) it expands over 4,000 times). This leaves the fire without enough of the combustive agent, and it dies out. The vaporization of water also absorbs heat; it thereby cools the smoke, air, walls, and objects that could act as further fuel, and thus prevents one of the means by which fires grow, which is by "jumping" to nearby heat/fuel sources to start new fires, which then combine. Water extinguishment is thus a combination of "asphyxia" (cutting off the oxygen supply) and cooling. The flame itself is suppressed by asphyxia, but the cooling is the most important element in mastering a fire in a closed area.
  Water may be accessed from a pressurized fire hydrant, pumped from water sources such as lakes or rivers, delivered by tanker truck, or dropped from water bombers, which are aircraft adapted as tankers for fighting forest fires. An armored vehicle (firefighting tank) may be used where access to the area is difficult.
caption: USMC firefighters neutralize a fire during a training exercise
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Aircraft, Rescue Firfighters aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar fight blazing fires during a controlled burn at the burn pit here. ARFF performed controlled burns June 13-14, they perform these burns about four times a year.", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop 7.0", "Image DateTime": "2009:06:15 14:37:35", "Image Artist": "Lance Cpl. Manuel F. Guerrero", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "496", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1278", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "14028", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "14", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:06:13 09:36:51", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:06:13 09:36:51", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "61/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "135", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4368", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2912", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "873600/283", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1456000/471", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}