Fire Tetrahedron
The Fire Tetrahedron is based on the theory of the Fire Triangle. The three sides of the fire triangle are fuel, heat and oxygen. Each side or element of the equation must be proportional to each other in order to create and maintain combustion. Fuels can consist of various objects such as liquid fuels (i.e. JP8, DFM, Petroleum), solid fuels (i.e. wood, metal) or gases (i.e. acetylene, hydrogen and other natural gases). The heat side of the triangle is labeled heat and not fire because only heat is needed to initiate combustion. Friction is an example of flameless heat (i.e. rubbing two sticks together). The third element of the equation is oxygen (O2) which the fire needs in order to breathe. The tetrahedron theory is established on the principal that all elements of the triangle must be able to freely interact on a chemical level in order to maintain the combustion process. This is known as the uninhibited chemical chainreaction. Chemical inhibitors (i.e. [Bromotrifluoromethane], [Bromochlorodifluoromethane])are used in order to fight fires without the use of water or other cooling agents.