The music and the very primal presence of fire create a strong sense of urgency, and they really made the situation feel dire. I also liked how the seamless screen transitions and the ability to collect water just by moving close to it fit the game so well without getting in the way of its core loop of finding fires and putting them out.
It took me a while to realize that I could catch fire too. It might also be fun to throw water on NPCs running around while on fire