Question 864 Deck Safety

The correct answer is B) oleum. Water should not be used as an extinguishing agent to fight a fire if the water may come into contact with the chemical oleum. Oleum is a highly reactive chemical that reacts violently with water, producing sulfuric acid. This reaction can cause the fire to spread and create additional hazards. Regulations require the use of specialized extinguishing agents, such as dry chemical or carbon dioxide, when dealing with fires involving oleum or other reactive chemicals on bulk chemical carriers. The other answer choices, acrylic acid, vinyl toluene, and benzene, while hazardous, do not have the same violent reaction with water that oleum does, and water may be an appropriate extinguishing agent for fires involving these chemicals in certain situations.