Another very productive day on

wednesday, thursday less so, slowly but

surely each days burning gets through

the pile of timber...

Fire...

   Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material

in the chemical process of combustion,

releasing heat, light and various reaction

products. Examples of slower oxidative

processes are rusting and digestion...

   A flame is a mixture of reacting gases and

solids emitting visible and other types of light..

   With the burning of organic matter,

for example wood, incandescent solid particles

called soot produce the familiar red-orange

glow of fire...

  The fire tetrahedron is the three elements

needed for fire; heat, fuel & oxygen.

When heat is sufficient and is able to sustain

a rate of rapid oxidation, this produces a

chain reaction. Fire cannot exist without all of

these elements in place and in the right

proportions.

     Fire is then sustained by its own heat, as long as

there is a continuous supply of an oxidizer and fuel.

   Every natural ecosystem has its own fire regime,

organisms in those ecosystems are adapted

to, or dependent upon the regime. Fire creates

a mosaic of different habitat patches, each at a

different stage of succession. Different species of

plants, animals, and microbes specialise in

exploiting a particular stage, and by creating these

different types of patches, fire allows a greater

number of species to exist within a landscape.

    In Britain these fire regimes are controlled by man,

for example, the practice of Swayling on Dartmoor...

source: adapted from wikipedia article on Fire...