How much water does it take to extinguish a room and contents fire?
Answer In an average sized residential room of 10′ x 10′, and under ideal conditions, it would take 8 gallons of water per minute to extinguish a fire in this room. This depends on the water reaching all burning areas in the room and being completely converted to steam. Under normal conditions it takes more water because it is difficult to reach all burning material in a room. Usually water is applied into the room to darken it down and then the stream is shut down. The firefighters then overhaul the materials to find hidden fire and apply more water but in small quantities. Statistically 75% of all fires are extinguished with 250 gallons of water or less.
