Eli5 – does boiling water work as efficiently to put out a fire as cold water or even room temp water?

Question

Or does the molecular structure change in a certain way once heated, and in turn can steam put out a fire.

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

To answer your second question, steam is great for putting out fires. A small amount of water will turn into a great deal of steam, which removes one of the four things a fire needs (heat, fuel, oxygen, and the chemical reaction). Firefighters routinely use short bursts of water to create steam to knock down a fire. Firefighters are careful, though, because making too much steam tends to hurt humans – steam goes through bunker gear.