Knowledge of Physical States and Properties of Matter

As emergency responders, understanding physical states and properties of matter is very important.  Why would this be important?  Well, when dealing with different substances, whether they be solid, liquid or gas, knowing the properties of matter can help tremendously helpful in an emergency situation.  For example, not every fire can be extinguished with water, which many people may not be aware of.  According to the site https://fire9prevention.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/water-as-an-extinguishing-agent-it-doesnt-always-work/ , there are many different classes of fires.  Class A fires are fires from ordinary combustibles, such as cardboard, or wood.  Class B fires involve flammable liquids, like alcohol and gasoline.  Class C fires are electrical fires and Class D fires are fires that occur from combustible metals.  This site describes that class B fires involve flammable liquids.  These liquids aren't the flammable element, it is the vapors that they give off.  A lot of people may not know that.  Knowing and understanding the physical properties of substances is very important because if there is a gasoline fire, many people may look straight to water to put it out because that is what is thought to put out all fires.  Well, knowing the physical properties of gasoline, according to the site http://www.air-n-water.com/fire-types.htm , you would know that gasoline and water do not mix.  So, adding water to the gasoline or oil fires only increases the surface area of the fire and makes it bigger.  This obviously creates a more dangerous situation and causes a bigger emergency than there originally was.  Knowing that water conducts electricity is also a good example as well, so you cant put out a class C fire with water either.  These simple examples can be related to chemicals in a lab.  Maybe there is a chemical that cannot be stored in an environment that has a temperature above a certain point or else it might combust.  This is very important to know for all types of matter, because different states of matter of a substance may react differently than another, or possibly even itself in a different state.  A term you may hear when discussing this subject is flashpoint.  What is it?  Well, according to the site http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/flash-point.html , flashpoint is only associated with liquids, and it is the temperature that is reached where a liquid will release or give off vapors that when mixed with air have the capability of being ignited.  This is important when dealing with liquids in a lab or when storing them because not understanding the physical properties could possibly lead to being unaware of a safety hazard that may arise from the incorrect use or storage of a substance.  That is why it is very important as emergency responders to understand the physical and chemical properties of matter.  It could be the difference in creating or not creating a hazard as well as possibly making the emergency worse or better.  I hope this article was helpful in providing information about why understanding the physical properties of matter is so important and how helpful it can be.