Water has become the most widely used fire-fighting agent because its fire suppression performance is hard to beat. The thermal characteristics of water make it ideally suitable as an extinguishing agent for most types of fire, whether it is used to extract heat directly from the flames, the hot products of combustion or from the surface of the fuel. The phase change from liquid water to water vapour (steam) is particularly effective in extracting thermal energy and the production of large quantities of water vapour may further contribute to fire extinguishment by reducing the oxygen concentration of the surrounding atmosphere, particularly where the fire is confined. The present paper is based on an extensive literature review conducted within Edinburgh University＇s Fire Safety Engineering Group and sponsored by the UK Home Office Fire Research and Development Group. The aim of the research project was to establish the current state-of-the-art regarding the use of water sprays for the suppression and extinguishment of typical (Class ＇A＇) compartment fires and to identify where gaps exist in the current knowledge. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.