Talk:Fire

Definition of fire

Hi all. The current lead sentence defines fire as "the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products." I feel like this is describing combustion more than fire itself. Would it not make more sense to define fire as the visible effect or phenomenon resulting from combustion (specifically rapid combustion)? For example, the flame and heat are observable features of fire, but combustion can occur without flame (like in smoldering or slow oxidation). The current definition could blur that distinction.

Thoughts? ShortTimeNoSee (talk) 01:44, 28 June 2025 (UTC)

I'm not clear how the first sentence could be confused with smoldering, which is a slower oxidation process. Praemonitus (talk) 05:15, 28 June 2025 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 September 2025

Add "Firefighters play a crucial role" DavidSayzHiiiii (talk) 16:30, 26 September 2025 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Slomo666 (talk) 16:41, 26 September 2025 (UTC)

Human fire 400,000 years ago

It might be worth adding the reference https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-b9da7a6d-165b-492a-8785-235cd10e2e8e ~2025-31812-95 (talk) 17:25, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

I've added it as a ref. Thanks. Praemonitus (talk) 23:25, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

Might I suggest the academic article announcing discovery of the earliest fire-starting might make a better reference than a news source? I added this over at list of British innovations and discoveries in December.

Davis, Rob; Hatch, Marcus; Hoare, Sally; Lewis, Simon G.; Lucas, Claire; Parfitt, Simon A.; Bello, Silvia M.; Lewis, Mark; Mansfield, Jordan; Najorka, Jens; O'Connor, Simon; Peglar, Sylvia; Sorensen, Andrew; Stringer, Chris; Ashton, Nick (10 December 2025). "Earliest evidence of making fire". Nature. 649 (8097): 631–637. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09855-6. PMID 41372405. Retrieved 11 December 2025. Claudius Deirus (talk) 08:24, 5 April 2026 (UTC)

There's already an academic source attached. Per WP:SIGCOV, it's okay to include reliable secondary sources, so no need to replace it. Thanks. Praemonitus (talk) 14:43, 5 April 2026 (UTC)

Dubious claim: Humans lack an instinctual fascination with fire

In Culture section contains the statement:

"Humans lack an instinctual fascination with fire, yet in modern societies adults can become drawn to it out of curiosity. In societies that are dependent on daily fire use, children lose interest in fire at about age seven due to regular exposure."

The whole In Culture section up to that point refutes the statement, citing many important examples of use of fire for no practical reason, going back thousands of years. Many or most people enjoy watching fire, hence the very common use of fireplaces, campfires and candles even when they are not strictly needed.

The claim is backed by a single reference. It claims in traditional cultures children can play with fire and lose their fascination with it about 10 or 12 years old. But it doesn't explain why people have used fire in non-practical ways, in ceremonies and social occasions, for thousands of years, not just recent times when we are supposedly deprived of fire-learning experiences.

Yet I admit it is hard to find a reliable source, especially a secondary one, that says explicitly "humans are fascinated by fire". It's probably expressed in different words, such as a "pleasurable sensation" or "social catalyst". I would appreciate help in finding one. Ttulinsky (talk) 07:50, 2 January 2026 (UTC)

I think the point is the interest in fire is cultural and based in experience, rather than being something purely instinctive like fear of falling or blinking our eyes. Praemonitus (talk) 21:23, 4 January 2026 (UTC)

Wrong source for pollution?

The reference to humans evolving to resist air pollution (currently ref 26) points to a paper that doesn't actually research that, but points to another paper. Specifically, it links to https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1163886 but that itself cites https://doi.org/10.1054/mehy.2001.1385 which is the actual research on the topic. I don't know enough about Wikipedia citation formatting to fix this, however. ~2026-83725-6 (talk) 10:11, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 27 July 2026

Can a registered user please update the section on Early human control to include a statement to the effect that Evidence of human use of fire has been found 1.79 million years ago in Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa.

See https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260623083123.htm ~2026-41874-67 (talk) 20:33, 27 July 2026 (UTC)

There's already a more general statement to that effect, including a reference to the Berna et al (2012) paper. It is more specifically mentioned on the Control of fire by early humans article linked from that section. I think that should be sufficient. Praemonitus (talk)