Najopćenitije podjele sredstava za gašenje požara daju nam tri vrste: glavna – voda, specijalna- pjena, ugljikov dioksid, haloni, prah i pomoćna –pokrivači, pijesak, ostalo. Od "idealnog" sredstva za gašenje požara zahtijevamo sljedeća svojstva: dobro oduzimanje topline hladeći tvar koja gori, stvaranje atmosfere koja sprečava pristup zraku oko gorive tvari, nemogućnost spajanja sa svim drugim stvarima, nemogućnost provođenja el. energije, nezapaljivost u svim aktivnostima, nemogućnost raspadanja samog sredstva na zapaljive tvari, raspoloživost u dovoljnim količinama i pristupačna cijena. Danas postoji puno različitih sredstava za gašenje požara, ali ni jedno od njih ne zadovoljava sve uvjete "idealnog" sredstva za gašenje požara.

Fires of all classifications cannot be dealt with in the same way. The three primary categories of fire extinguishing agents currently used in dealing with fires are: Primary Agents – water, foam, Supplementary Agents - Dry Chemical, Halotron and Carbon Dioxide; Other Agents - these agents can be either in the form of liquid or powder. Extinguishing agents must be: good penetration of the heat by cooling a burning substance, creating an atmosphere that prevents airborne access to fuel, inability to connect with all other things, inability to conduct electricity, inflammability in all activities, inability to disintegrate the flammable substance itself, availability in sufficient quantities and an affordable price. Today there are a lot of different extinguishing agents, but none of them meets all the conditions of the "ideal" fire extinguishing agent.