Ancient Fire, Modern Fire

Book excerpt: Creating fire is easy, yet understanding and learning to live with this friend and foe has never been easy; stopping fire is a dangerous—and often deadly—pursuit. Drawing on his experiences as an environmental historian, firefighter and life safety educator, author Einar Jensen presents an eye-opening look at fire and our history of dealing with it, then gives us the tools for being responsible and prepared—as parents and teachers, as communities and fire service professionals, and as homeowners in the wildland urban interface. “If we don’t change our understanding of fire, our rules of engagement, or our cultural values, we should expect more tragedies and be willing to pay for them in ever-increasing volumes of dollars, blood, sweat and tears. I’m committed to preventing these tragedies, and I hope to bring more members into my prevention cadre.” — Einar Jensen Contents 1 - Fire, Our Friend and Foe 2 – Fundamentals of Fire Science 3 - Youth & Firesetting: Playing with Fire Can Burn Us 4 - Fire’s Dark Side: A Tool of Pain & Destruction 5 - Fire’s Positive Side: A Tool of Creation 6 - Rules of Fire, Rites of Fire 7 - Sacred Fire 8 - Risk Perception and Fire 9 - Harmony with Fire 10 - Will We Keep Burning? Plus 29 Ancient Myths about the Origins of Fire, and a detailed appendix with Resources for Dealing with Youth Fire Misuse, Suggested Reading, Online Resources, Glossary and more.