What does the term 'fire tetrahedron' represent?

The term 'fire tetrahedron' represents the four elements needed for combustion: fuel, heat, oxygen, and a chemical chain reaction. This concept is an extension of the fire triangle, which includes fuel, heat, and oxygen but adds the fourth element to better describe the combustion process. Understanding the fire tetrahedron is critical for effective fire prevention and suppression strategies because it highlights that all four components must be present for a fire to ignite and sustain itself. By removing any one of these components, a firefighter can extinguish a fire, making this knowledge essential for anyone involved in firefighting or fire safety.