At a very young age, we're taught that water puts out fire. As children, we're told why this aspect of fire safety is so important, but we don't usually learn the science of how water subdues flames. So why does water put out fire? It might work differently than you think.
"Water puts out fire mainly because it's a really good heat sink," Sara McAllister, a fire combustion and behavior expert at the U.S. Forest Service's Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory in Montana told Live Science. "It's really good at absorbing heat."
