I know there are certain types of fires that, if one uses water on it, will get worse. But as far as I know, firefighters use water tanks and fire hydrants for virtually every fire too large for a fire extinguisher to do the job.
Is it an issue of if the source isn’t large enough or too far away it doesn’t matter? How do they know the kind of fire before reacting to it?
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Short answer, it’s what they have available to them.
Longer answer, if the specific type of material requires specialized chemicals the building should be designed with the correct fire mitigating equipment.
In my jurisidciation any building that has specialized requirements will also have a fire safety plan. It will tell the first responders exactly what to expect. That plan is approved by, and kept on file with the fire department, as well as in a lock box on the exterior of the building.
But then specific things in the building will be properly designed. Like you can’t fight a grease fire with water, so deep fryers must have a chemical suppressant system integral to their implementation, which will go off. But there will also be k-class extinguisher in a kitchen (and the fire department carry these with them too)
Or the material is effectively stored when a fire suppression system isn’t possible. Like with combustible liquids, they’ll be in rated storage tanks, so if there is a fire in the building, the flammable liquids won’t be exposed. Or the fore department can go grab coffee while the building burns itself out (half joking)
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