Why does petrol catch fire but not the water?

Answer 1

There are various ways to extinguish a petrol/gasoline/flammable liquid fire.Water is heavier than petrol and will just have the effect of spreading the fire, Petro-chem fires are nearly always extinguished with chemical foam which forms a blanket over the flames and cuts off the oxygen supply. The worst thing you can turn on a petrol fire is a hosepipe.

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Answer 2

Water cannot extinguish all fires. But the reason is can't extinguish petrol fires is because petrol as a liquid is less dense than water. As water is thrown onto the petrol, the petrol floats on top of the water and continues to vapourise. It is the vapour which burns, slightly above the surface of the petrol.

Answer 3

Petrol is a flammable hydrocarbon, and it can burn in air if ignited. Water is a stable compound of hydrogen and oxygen, and its chemistry is such that it will not burn. Looked at another way, the hydrogen is already oxidized, and it has no reason to react to an ignition source.

Petrol is less dense than water, and it, like other hydrocarbons, will float on water. Further, it can be ignited and will burn as it floats on water. As floating hydrocarbons are exposed to air, if their ignition temperature can be reached, they will burst into flames and burn.

Answer 4

A fire caused by petrol is a fire that is accelerated by oil; oil cannot be mixed with water so the oil , the cause of inferno, is not effected by water.