How can firefighters prevent furniture from absorbing water from wet flooring?

Raising the furniture off the floor is an effective method to prevent it from absorbing water in situations with wet flooring. By using items like canned goods, firefighters can create a barrier between the furniture and the moisture on the floor. This method minimizes direct contact with water, helping to protect the furniture from damage such as warping, staining, or mold growth that may occur if it remains in direct contact with the wet surface.

The other strategies, while they may have their own merits in different contexts, either do not fully address the concern of water absorption or may be impractical. Covering the furniture with tarps could help to some extent, but if the furniture is still sitting on waterlogged flooring, it will still be vulnerable. Moving it to another room might be effective only if the new location is completely dry; otherwise, it doesn’t solve the underlying issue. Soaking up water from the floor is certainly a good practice to mitigate flooding but does not directly prevent the furniture itself from becoming damaged by the existing water on the floor.