Learn 🔥'Fire'🔥 words and phrases - Get fired up, Speak English with Mr Duncan

Can you see what I'm doing today?

I'm preparing to light a fire.

I have some old wood and garden debris to dispose of.

To start a fire, you need some dry material.

This will light easily.

Paper is the most common material used.

Or small pieces of wood will also do the job.

The material used to start a fire is called kindling.

You use kindling to start the fire.

Kindling establishes the fire.

There is also the word kindle, which means to start a fire.

Kindling is a noun, while kindle is a verb.

I will use a match to start the fire.

I will strike the match and light the paper.

This will start the fire.

The paper will ignite.

The word ignite comes from the Latin word for fire.

We sometimes use the word ‘pyro’

to describe something related to fire.

For example,

a person who is addicted to starting fires

can be called a pyromaniac.

The most obvious parts of a fire

are the flames and smoke.

Can you see the flames?

The movement of the flames cannot be predicted.

Flames move randomly.

We can use the word lick to describe the movement

of a fire's flames.

The flames licked around the door frame.

A flame flickers.

We can describe the flame

on a candle as a flickering flame.

A flame can shimmer.

Flicker.

Glow.

Dance.

The fire I'm lighting today will be safely contained.

This container is called an incinerator.

You burn things in an incinerator.

The inside of the incinerator will become very hot.

To keep the fire under control.

I must put this lid on it.

Now the fire will burn steadily and remain safe.

The small hole in the centre of the lid allows the smoke to escape

in a controlled way. Just like the chimney on a house would.

Fires are fun to watch, but they can also be very dangerous.

Especially if they get out of control.

After the fire has gone out, there is normally some debris left.

This grey looking substance is called ash.

This is all that is left of what was burned.

You can also put out a fire using water.

This action can be described as extinguish.

You extinguish the fire.

You put the fire out.

You have extinguished the flames.

The fire has been put out.

Here in the UK, we have a tradition that involves lighting fires.

Each year on November the 5th.

People light large bonfires

to commemorate the capture of a group of men

who were plotting to blow up the Houses of Parliament

and kill the then King of England

in 1605.

Parliament was and still is,

the meeting place of the British government.

The plot, however, was foiled when Parliament officials

discovered one of the plotters,

a man named Guy Fawkes, guarding the gunpowder.

This event became known as the Gunpowder Plot.

The celebrations take place every November 5th.

It is known as Guy Fawkes Night.

Large bonfires are lit and lifesize effigies of Guy

Fawkes are burned on the fires.

Fireworks are also let off and the quite often food such as baked potatoes are eaten.

There is a rhyme that goes with this event to which begins.

Remember, Remember the 5th of November gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.

There are some interesting phrases connected to fire.

You might fire up something, which means to get something started,

to fire up an engine, to cause someone to become excited.

Can be described as being fired up.

You might fire someone up or make them fired up.

We can say that something has

gone up in flames if it has been consumed or destroyed by fire.

In a figurative sense,

we can say that a person's plans have gone up in flames.

That person's hopes and dreams have been destroyed.

A person might be described as playing with fire.

If they are doing something that is dangerous or risky, an action

that might cause you harm can be described as playing with fire.

Something a person has always wanted to do

can be described as a burning ambition.

Your burning ambition is to be a famous English teacher.

A person who is working hard

and putting lots of effort into their job

might be described as being on fire.

They are working very hard and also doing very well.

That person is on fire.