Fire walking

[Penny-lope]

Has anyone one here tried it?

I was on Gumtree and noticed this ad for charity...

http://dundee.gumtree.com/dundee/90/53992690.html

It's something I have always wondered about.

[Justayellowbadge]

I think this post is mostly filler.

[Psychobert]

Penny-lope said:

Has anyone one here tried it?

Yup.

Walk steadily and smoothly through it, don't run.

If you should happen to know anyone with particularly hairy hobbit like feet, prepare for the smell of burning hair.

[Emsman]

I have tried fire running.

Broadly similar, but you tend to run around, flailing you arms around looking for a way to extinguish yourself!

I did see a mate try fire walking though- he said it was dead easy, im not so sure

[crofty1984]

Emsman said:

I have tried fire running.

Broadly similar, but you tend to run around, flailing you arms around looking for a way to extinguish yourself!

I did see a mate try fire walking though- he said it was dead easy, im not so sure

Hehehe!

[ewenm]

Emsman said:

I did see a mate try fire walking though- he said it was dead easy, im not so sure

The physics of it is quite simple and as long as you do as suggested above, avoiding digging into the coals, it is easy. The hardest bit is overcoming the fact your instincts are telling you not to do it.

[louiebaby]

I saw it on Mythbusters. I'd do it, but haven't yet.

[blackburn]

We were at a works charity bash on Monday night where some 25 odd (sic) employees were doing the fire walking. 3 of us went to watch a guy we used to work closely with do it.

We got there early so we could have some tea and a drink. All the walkers were sectioned off and worked into something of a frenzy - there was a lot of shouting going on.

Anyway, after tea, we went outside to see the fire. It was supposed to be 20' long. In reality it was barely 12'. It was pouring with rain, and before the walkers appeared the red embers were raked to either side of the fire bed so that the walkers were on black embers rather than red. Again there was a lot of shouting, and then they set-off. All participants managed it (easily)and they all seemed pleased with themselves. The 3 of us watching felt a little cheated that the course was rather short, and people hadn't really walked on fire.

Maybe we're too sadistic...

[Elskeggso]

I'd do it, I have hairy toes though so it would probably stink

[andygo]

ewenm said:

Emsman said:

I did see a mate try fire walking though- he said it was dead easy, im not so sure

The physics of it is quite simple and as long as you do as suggested above, avoiding digging into the coals, it is easy. The hardest bit is overcoming the fact your instincts are telling you not to do it.

What are the physics of it, as a matter of interest?

[ewenm]

andygo said:

ewenm said:

Emsman said:

I did see a mate try fire walking though- he said it was dead easy, im not so sure

The physics of it is quite simple and as long as you do as suggested above, avoiding digging into the coals, it is easy. The hardest bit is overcoming the fact your instincts are telling you not to do it.

What are the physics of it, as a matter of interest?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewalking

And there's a Mythbusters clip about it too.

[blindswelledrat]

I hear this more and more in the 'corporate day out' sense.
I cannot comprehend why anyone has the slightest interest in doing it.
By virtue of the fact that it isn't dangerous and someone who hasn't done it before can just do it- then what is the point of doing it at all?

I know ILl be accused of being a misery, but think about it. What is the difference between walking over coals that don't burn you, to walking over grass in your garden?
Precisely nothing.
Very strange passtime

[dirty boy]

Being a bit of an idiot, I did this last year when we went camping.

It was simply walking over hot coals, wasn't too bad, only my feet burnt like fkery in my sleeping bag that night, not really bad, but bloody uncomfortable.

It's a simple case of pain threshold and stupidity level

Edited by dirty boy on Thursday 18th February 15:57

[ewenm]

blindswelledrat said:

I hear this more and more in the 'corporate day out' sense.
I cannot comprehend why anyone has the slightest interest in doing it.
By virtue of the fact that it isn't dangerous and someone who hasn't done it before can just do it- then what is the point of doing it at all?

I know ILl be accused of being a misery, but think about it. What is the difference between walking over coals that don't burn you, to walking over grass in your garden?
Precisely nothing.
Very strange passtime

It's the mental aspect of it. However, as you point out, once you've overcome that mental hurdle, it's fairly trivial. Perhaps the corporate types emphasise it showing you how you can overcome mental hurdles. You know, changing from "I can't" to "I can", or some other management mumbo-jumbo.

[dudleybloke]

didn't some people get some nasty burns doing this on a teambuilding course last year?

[ScottishSamurai]

slight bump, but its reminded me that through one of our classes at college we are thinking about doing a fire walk for charity in september. Don't know whether to look forward to it or not

[Puggit]

I've done it - previous company I worked for did this as part of an induction week in Boston. A couple of hundred people worldwide would all attend a week long training course, and one evening's 'entertainment' was the firewalking.

We all had to attend an 'improve yourself' type seminar, full of pack patting and happy clapping. Needless to say the Brits all took the piss.

The final part was the firewalking, when we were supposed to have been whipped in to a frenzy and mindlessly follow the leader.

I'd read up on it before, and being a scientist by nature, knew it was perfectly safe.

---

Simply put, wood is an awful conductor of heat, even when red hot. Keep walking and you'll be ok!