Which one of the following can extinguish fire more quickly?

Boiling water extinguishes fire more quickly than cold water due to the physics of phase changes and heat absorption. Water suppresses fire by cooling the fuel and displacing oxygen through steam generation. While cold water absorbs more total energy to reach 100°C, the latent heat of vaporization—the energy required to turn 100°C liquid water into steam—is significantly higher than the energy needed to heat water from room temperature [1]. Boiling water is already at its phase-change threshold, allowing it to convert into steam almost instantly upon contact with the fire [1]. This rapid conversion creates a massive volume of water vapor (1 liter of water produces approximately 1,700 liters of vapor), which smothers the fire by cutting off the oxygen supply much faster than cold water, which must first be heated to its boiling point.

Sources

1. [1] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 22: Vertical Distribution of Temperature > Latent Heat > p. 294