THE BEST Fire

Designed to combat blazes while keeping humans at a safe distance, Textron Systems and Howe & Howe’s remote-operated robots can blast 1,250-2,500 gallons of water per minute. The robots can climb stairs, shove and winch vehicles, and endure extreme heat. Would also be fun as a response to Elon Musk’s flamethrowers.

We always thought that Ghost Rider preferred motorcycles, but apparently, he also can operate a Zamboni. Watch in amazement as this driver calmly drives his ice smoothing machine across the ice and out of the rink after it somehow caught on fire at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex.

Combining a handmade wood board with a miniature concrete fire pit, Swoon Living’s tabletop setup lets you make delicious S’mores whenever you feel like it. The board has cutouts to hold skewers, marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers (not included). The fire burns isopropyl alcohol or high-proof vodka.

The Backyard Scientist has a penchant for dangerous, yet impressive experiments. In this clip, he takes to his swimming pool with a contraption that’s designed to blow perfect bubble rings, but instead of just filling them with oxygen, he introduces some propane, so when hit with an electric charge, they explode.

Since 1924, a blazing effigy culminates Zozobra, Santa Fe’s annual festival. The 50’ tall, villainous puppet is stuffed with 1,000s of “glooms” as kindling to burn away fears, failings, and flaws – from past-due bills to divorce papers. This year everyone will virtually torch glooms and watch the bonfire live 9.4.20, 8pm MDT on KOAT.

Back in the 1980s, hairdresser and inventor Maurice Ward came up with a substance that was apparently incredibly resistant to heat and fire. NightHawkinLight explores the history of the material known as Starlite, what happened to it, and then makes his own version of the compound.

Back in 2018, director Ryan Gibb and MTB rider Nico Vink traveled to New Mexico’s Philmont Scout Ranch, where they captured this amazingly fiery footage. The film was created entirely in a controlled setting on private property on an already burnt piece of land. Learn more about the project from Teton Gravity Research.

Due to the global pandemic, The Slow Mo Guys are still stuck an ocean apart, so today’s clip features a solo experiment conducted by Gav, who has the duo’s high-speed cameras in his possession. Sit back and enjoy some slow-motion footage of molten thermite being poured into an aquarium filled with water.

There’s a classic physics experiment that shows how filling a balloon with water protects it from a lit match. Expanding on this idea, Beyond Slow Motion’s Darren Dyk wanted to see if the same would hold true if he held a ball of fire in his hand using butane and soap bubbles. Needless to say, don’t try this at home.

CRKT’s convenient lanyard tool makes quick work of starting campfires, with its magnesium spark rod and striking surface. It also doubles as an in-the-field knife sharpener, perfect for putting a new edge on your pocket knife in a pinch.

The S loves to build all kinds of things out of matchsticks, then light them on fire. In this clip, he built a cardboard model of a disc-shaped UFO, filled it up with 25,000 of the incendiary devices, then set them ablaze with awesome results. The spinning part of the lift-off was a nice touch.

Donn DIY and his family used to cut, split, and stack all of their firewood by hand. As necessity is the mother of invention, he built a series of rigs which help automate much of the process, making it faster and more efficient, with much less back-breaking work. You check out all of the detailed build videos here.

Director Ron Howard and producing partner Brian Grazer visit Paradise, California, which was ravaged by a horrifying firestorm in 2018, resulting in unfathomable damage, and at least 86 fatalities. Despite the enormous tragedy, members of the community are resolved to rebuilding their lives there.

This updated version of FLÎKR’s tabletop fireplace offers an even sleeker design, with a quartz-like base. It burns smokeless isopropyl rubbing alcohol, providing a warm glow, and a little heat wherever you place it. You can even cook S’mores over its food-safe fire. (Must be 18+ to purchase)

Do you have heaps of brush or other debris you need to burn? Skip the burn barrels and uncontained piles. Made from thick 14 gauge steel, Pyro Cages keep fires controlled, and help feed them with airflow thanks to their perforated sides. They come in a variety of sizes, along with optional lids and risers available.

Woodburning isn’t a unique craft, but artist Hye Sea of Magnify the Sun executes it differently than others. Rather than electric tools, she uses a variety of magnifying lenses to focus bright sunlight onto a plywood canvas. If you’re interested in having a portrait commissioned, you can make an inquiry here.

In a scene that plays out like the end of Terminator 2, watch as these disused aluminum car rims are melted down in a hot furnace, so they can be reincarnated into other products. We kept waiting for some screaming heads to start bursting out of the molten metal.

Woodworker Lignum has made some pretty cool furniture over the years, and this build is among his most intriguing. He created this table by laminating together blocks of wood then scorching it with a torch to give it the look that a fire burnt its insides out. We imagine it smells like a campfire too.

Wheel rims from a car seem like an odd material for building a wood-burning stove, but that’s exactly what André Göbel of Create Custom Designs did, a set of old steel rims to provide the structure for a cylindrical stove inspired by Bullerjan stoves, which use bent pipes to circulate cold air from the bottom and out of its top.

Filmmakers Hugo Manhes and Madcow collaborated on the short film Trajectoires, which uses a simple concept to produce a dramatic effect. By dangling bright flares from a couple of drones, they created a unique source of illumination for their natural surroundings. Set to an ethereal soundtrack by Linky Larson.

From the “don’t try this at home” file, Brad Russell shows off what happens when a 2000-volt transformer from a microwave oven is applied to wood painted with sodium bicarbonate. The result is beautiful, tree-like patterns known as Lichtenberg figures.

The Q decided that ordinary matches weren’t big enough for him, so he went ahead and made five giant-sized matches out of wood, rope, and a homemade mix of incendiary chemicals like the ones on a real match head. To complete the set, he built a wooden matchbox with a sandpaper striker on its side.

Nature’s fury is on full display in this short film that takes us inside the harrowing 2018 volcanic eruption of Kilauea on Hawaii’s big island. Photographers Lance Page, Michael Lienau, G. Brad Lewis, and Adrian Hein each captured a portion of the spectacular footage, which ranges from massive smoke plumes, to rivers of fire.

Many of us loved to play with our toy fire twucks when we were little kids, but the real fire-fighting machines are much more impressive. Donut Media dropped by the Oxnard Fire Department to learn all about the many features and gear on board their shiny new 2020 Pierce Arrow XT fire truck.

Coolest Thing introduces us to self-proclaimed mad scientist Lance Greathouse. Among his many builds is a motorized wheelchair that packs a flamethrower on its front end. But he doesn’t just build silly stuff, Lance and the folks from the Wheelchair Labs helps refurbish wheelchairs for people in need.

Senko Hanabi fireworks are a traditional Japanese form of pyrotechnics that uses only a tiny bit of combustible powder to get started, then transforms through various stages to produce a sparkler effect. NightHawkInLight scored a rare lesson on how to make them at the Tsutsui Tokimasa fireworks company. Money shot at 14:18.