What are the three elements of the fire triangle?

• A. Heat, fuel, and oxygen
• B. Water
• C. Pressure
• D. Cold

Answer: (A)

The fire needs three ingredients to keep burning: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Heat raises the material to its ignition temperature, fuel provides the material that burns, and oxygen supports the chemical reaction. If you remove any one of these, the flame cannot continue. Water cools the fuel below its ignition temperature, stopping the reaction; removing or isolating the fuel source takes away what is burning; and smothering or otherwise limiting air cuts off the oxygen supply. The other options aren’t parts of the trio—water is a cooling method, not one of the elements; pressure and cold aren’t the factors that sustain combustion.