Fire breathing?

[mrgoat]

I'm doing a small theatrical event for St George's day and they asked if I can breathe fire. Now, I never have, but as I understand it, the actual breathing of fire is little more than blowing petrol/lighterfluid or some such over a flame.

Clearly there are hazards involved.

Can anyone post any advice or point me to a book?

Thanks

Damian

[Tom Pilling]

Hi Damian,

I seriously recommend learning this one-to-one from an experienced fire worker. It's not difficult, but there are a couple of things you MUST remember, or it'll be a trip to A&E with the sirens on.

Practice getting a good stream going using water, before moving to parrafin. Never, ever stop spitting until the lighter/torch has been removed from the stream. And always spit, never swallow...

[mrgoat]

And always spit, never swallow...

MUST REFRAIN MUST REFRAIN

OK, thanks for the advice Mr Pilling.

[Ian Kendall]

As your spiritual adviser, I would say DON'T DO IT.

Seriously.

I've got a book - I'll bung it in the package with the other one - but you NEED to get one on one instruction.

From speaking with friends who do this - custard powder is slightly better than paraffin, mainly because you are not breathing in paraffin fumes all the time (notwithstanding what you usually drink).

Be aware of the wind - never has the phrase 'never spit into the wind' been more apt. Get scads and scads of public liability insurance.

But, and I'll say this again, DON'T DO IT!

Talk soon :)

[mrgoat]

As your spiritual adviser, I would say DON'T DO IT.

Seriously.

I've got a book - I'll bung it in the package with the other one - but you NEED to get one on one instruction.

From speaking with friends who do this - custard powder is slightly better than paraffin, mainly because you are not breathing in paraffin fumes all the time (notwithstanding what you usually drink).

Be aware of the wind - never has the phrase 'never spit into the wind' been more apt. Get scads and scads of public liability insurance.

But, and I'll say this again, DON'T DO IT!

Talk soon :)

OK, point taken. I won't do it. Thank you for the advice.

/thread

[Richard Kaufman]

Good advice: don't do it. Accidents happen even to experts.

[Dustin Stinett]

DO IT! DO IT!

Just kidding. I've known a couple fire breathers. You are best not getting into it at all. There can be some long term issues; the cumulative effects of inevitable mishaps. That said, if you do decide otherwise, start with the much simpler fire eating. Even I have done that many moons ago. It's fun, a lot less dangerous, and impresses people.

Dustin

[Jeffrey Cowan]

Ben Garth and I wrote a book on fire eating during my final year of law school. As I recall, it contains a chapter on fire breathing (that part would have been Ben's work; I've never done "the blast") -- which is MUCH more dangerous and problematic for multiple reasons than "regular" fire eating. And "regular"/simple fire eating still requires considerable practice and understanding of the consequences of doing it in different environments.

With all of that said, the current edition of the book can be fond here: http://www.dube.com/book/FireEatingBook.php

Let me hasten to add that you should only try this knowing that you risk being burned or otherwise harmed every time you do it, and that you should assume you are bearing that risk every time you try to perform or practice fire eating. Language to that effect was printed on the bottom of every page of the original edition, and it was omitted from the book only after I relinquished involvement in the publication many years ago (and without my lawyerly consent). You also should read some comments that readers posted about an earlier version of the book on Amazon to better appreciate the risks involved: http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Eating-A-Man ... 0917643097

Hope this is helpful.

- Jeffrey

[Doc Dixon]

Jeffrey,

My buddy, Rick Maue, has your book on display in his living room. He took a lighter to it and burnt a big chunk of the cover and pages away. It may not read this way, but it's very funny.

DD

[Jeffrey Cowan]

Jeffrey,

My buddy, Rick Maue, has your book on display in his living room. He took a lighter to it and burnt a big chunk of the cover and pages away. It may not read this way, but it's very funny.

DD

Nope, it does read that way, Doc. Really funny -- but it would be funnier if there wwere a monkey perched on it.

[Brian Morton]

Nope, it does read that way, Doc. Really funny -- but it would be funnier if there wwere a monkey perched on it.

Oh, I am SO taking a lighter to the cover of my copy now. ;)



brian :cool: