Ordinary firefighting techniques were useless. The graphite and nuclear fuel were burning at such high temperatures that neither water nor foam could possibly quench them: so hot that water would not only evaporate instantly into steam, further distributing radioactive aerosols in a cloud of toxic vapor, but also could separate into its constituent elements, oxygen and hydrogen, creating the possibility of a further explosion. And besides, the colossal fields of gamma radiation surrounding the reactor made it impossible to approach by land or water for prolonged periods.
