Fire – friend or enemy?

Fire has been around since creation; in fact it appears that fire had a hand in creation itself. Therefore, man did not discover fire but apparently he discovered its use. Before he discovered its use, he was probably at its mercy. Fires started by nature, by lightning or by the sun, must have terrified early man for centuries when he eked out an existence by gathering fruits and nuts to keep body and soul together. Probably he also ate meat raw. Then one day he discovered that this terrible thing, which burnt and hurt, could be tamed. Then one by one he must have discovered its marvelous uses. Then fire ceased to be an enemy and became a bosom friend of man.

From then on it was a close friendship. Today we can hardly conceive of life without fire. It cooks out food, it provides warmth and it burns rubbish. Fire plays a major part in our lives from birth till we are cremated. The main blessing that this mysterious friend bestows on us is that it cooks our food. Throughout the world, from highly organized societies to primitive tribes, humans need food. Since it has been discovered that food tastes better when it has been cooked, cooking has evolved over the years so that there are now countless dishes to pamper our palates. All this is possible only because of fire.

Yet this great friend can be a dangerous enemy. In its natural state, fire can break out at any moment – usually through careless handling- and cause devastating harm. Destruction of lives and property by fire is one of the, almost, daily disasters in the world. Not even the most developed countries are exempt from this. All anyone can do is take as many precautions as possible but still prepare to fight it when it occurs. Frequently when fires break out, humans are helpless and great losses occur before the fires are brought under control.

On another note, man too uses fire for destructive purposes. Most weapons are based on the principle of fire. This applies to simple devices like handguns, to artillery pieces and nuclear bombs. The main destructive element in weapons or at least the trigger is fire based. In this case, it is not fire, which is danger in itself, but rather because it is used for destructive purposes by us.

Hence it is clear that fire is both a bosom friend and a deadly enemy. When kept under control it is one of the greater boons known to humanity; but when out of control or used for destruction it is a devastating force before which man is helpless.