Water plays a crucial role in fire suppression by addressing two key requirements for a fire to sustain itself, which are:
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Heat: Water cools down the flames and surrounding materials, reducing the temperature to below the ignition point. By lowering the heat, the water effectively impedes the fire's ability to burn.
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Fuel: While water itself does not remove fuel, it can dampen the fuel and reduce its ability to combust. When the vegetation or materials that are burning are wet, they are less likely to ignite or sustain a fire.
Water does not affect the oxygen in the environment directly, but by cooling down the fire and reducing the flammability of fuels, it can indirectly affect how easily a fire can continue by limiting the overall conditions required for combustion.
Thus, firefighters dropping water on a forest fire primarily helps remove heat from the fire and indirectly affects the fuel's combustibility.