View source for Fire breathing (circus act)

{{Short description|Using fuel to create fire from the mouth}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
[[File:This is called doing "The Dragon" 2013-12-28 22-39.png|thumb|right| Fire breathing Guinness world record holder Fredrik Karlsson doing "The dragon's breath"]]
[[File:Fire breathing 2 Luc Viatour.jpg|thumb|right|Fire breathing]]
[[File:Jester fire breathing in slow motion.webm|thumb|A [[Jester]] fire breathing in slow motion]]
[[File:DragonBreath.jpg|thumb|right|Dragon's breath, where the fire breather continues to feed a full-sized flame]]
[[File:DangerBobBreathesfire.JPG|thumb|right|Street performer fire breathing]] 
[[File:Fire breather (Tulenpuhaltaja) 01.jpg|thumb|right|Fire breather]] 
[[File:FireBreathingSet.jpg|thumb|right|Time-lapse composite of a breath of fire]]
[[File:Fire Breather 2010 Mich Ren Fest.JPG|thumb|right|Fire breath]]
[[File:FirebreathingBM2005.JPG|thumb|right|65 fire breathers perform simultaneously at [[Burning Man]] 2005]]
[[File:Fire breathing performance in a Ba-Jia-Jiang (the Eight Infernal Generals) parade in Chiayi City (Taiwan).jpg|thumb|right|Fire breathing performance in a [[Ba-Jia-Jiang]] (the Eight Infernal Generals) parade in Taiwan]]
[[File:Firebreathingtorch.JPG|thumb|right|A simple fire breathing [[torch]]]]
'''Fire breathing''' is the act of making a plume or stream of fire by creating a precise mist of fuel from the mouth over an open flame. Regardless of the precautions taken, it is always a dangerous activity, but the proper technique and the correct fuel reduces the risk of injury or death.

==Performance==
Fire breathing is performed by both professionals and non-professionals. Professional fire breathers usually incorporate the [[fire performance]] skill within a show where other fire skills are performed. The element of danger in performing fire breathing and other fire skills enhances the entertainment spectacle for many audience members.

==Training==
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2015}}
The vast majority of professional fire-breathers are apprenticed by a seasoned professional and it is strongly recommended that teaching oneself be avoided due to the extreme risks. Most people who are taught fire breathing and eating skills are seasoned performers in their own right and are taught under the condition that the skills not be passed on until they become a recognised fire performer. Virtually all recorded incidents of serious injury by fire breathing involve untrained individuals, often while under the influence of alcohol. Using an incorrect fuel is usually a strong contributing factor.

== Health and safety ==
Performing with fire has many inherent risks to the health and safety of the practitioners. Fire breathing has a wider range of risks due to the required technique to create the effect. Having an actively spotting trained safety assistant with an appropriate fire blanket and fire extinguisher is an appropriate best practice when fire breathing and is a mandatory clause in most insurance policies for professional fire breathers.<ref name=Spotter>Pele [http://www.homeofpoi.com/lessons_all/teach/Library-Fire-Breathing-Introduction-Fire-Breathing-11_52_194?agree=0 "Fire Breathing"], 2002. Retrieved 2010-10-18.</ref><ref name=Spotter2>NAFAA {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20020608182250/http://www.nafaa.org/nafaa_safety.html "NAFAA Performer Safety Guidelines. (Revision 2.1)"]}}, 2010-7-5. Retrieved 2010-10-18.</ref>

===Fuels===
To increase safety, fire breathers must avoid highly flammable fuels such as [[Alcohol (chemistry)|alcohol]], spirit-based fuels, and most [[petrochemicals]], instead using safer combustibles with a higher [[flash point]] (>50&nbsp;°C). Due to its relatively safe (≈90&nbsp;°C) flash point, paraffin, or highly purified lamp oil, is the preferred fuel for fire breathing. Although [[corn starch]] has been cited as a non-toxic fuel, the hazards of inhalation increase the potential risk of lung infections.

Fuels that are considered especially dangerous include:
* [[Ethanol]] can be absorbed into the blood stream without drinking. Thus attempting fire breathing with ethanol can cause [[Substance intoxication|intoxication]].
* [[Methanol]] (used with many colored flame recipes) has a variety of entry vectors and can cause blindness or neurological disorders.
* Very low [[flash point]] fuels like [[naphtha]], [[butane]], and [[propane]] can create a condensed vapor build-up in the [[human oral cavity|oral cavity]] leading to internal combustion, damaging the mouth or lungs. Naphtha is also quite carcinogenic, and performance careers built on using it entail a high risk of [[mouth cancer]].
* Common fuels like [[gasoline]] and [[kerosene]] often contain carcinogenic components, such as sulfurated compounds or [[benzene]]. They also are far easier to ignite and even a seasoned fire breather would be at serious risk of injury using these fuels for breathing

===Self-ignition===
There is a risk of self ignition while performing fire breathing. Enhanced risk comes from the use of lower flash point fuels, inappropriate fabrics in clothing (such as polyester), wearing other flammable items or products (such as hairspray), poor technique and performance in unsuitable locations.

===Health===
When fire breathing with the wrong fuel, or when an improper technique is used, fire breathing can increase the risk of:
* Death
* Severe [[burn]]s
* [[Fire breather's pneumonia]], a distinct type of [[lipid pneumonia]]<ref name=OCC>I. Weinberg and Z. G. Fridlender [https://archive.today/20130415131232/http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/60/3/234?rss=1 "Exogenous lipoid pneumonia caused by paraffin in an amateur fire breather -- Weinburg and Fridlender 60 (3): 234"], [[Occupational Medicine]], 2010-3-22. Retrieved on 2010-8-22.</ref>
*[[Acute respiratory distress syndrome|Acute respiratory distress]]
* Oral and dental problems
* Fuel [[poison]]ing
* Dry [[cough]]
* [[Headache]], [[dizziness]], drunken ill feeling
* [[abdominal pain]]s and [[diarrhea]]
* [[nausea]] and [[vomiting]]
* Dry tongue and cotton mouth
* Loss of taste
* Dry skin and topical heat burns
* Cancer of the mouth or throat from petrochemical exposure

==History==
A [[Slavery in ancient Rome|Roman slave]] named [[Eunus]] used fire breathing in an attempt to convince his fellow slaves that he had supernatural abilities in order for them to revolt against the Roman authorities.<ref name="nickell">{{Cite book |last=Nickell |first=Joe |title=Secrets of the sideshows |date=2005 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=0-8131-7179-2 |location=Lexington, Ky. |oclc=65377460|author-link=Joe Nickell}}</ref>{{rp|209}} To do this, Eunus hid a nutshell containing burning material in his mouth.

==In modern culture==
[[Gene Simmons]] of the rock band [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] often includes fire-breathing in the band's shows. "It's pretty dangerous," he observed. "If you don't blow it out and it doesn't explode the right way, it comes back at you. The tip is ''[for someone who wanted to start breathing fire]''… don't. It's not worth it."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Clark|last=Collis|title=Dear Superstar|magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]|date=June–July 2004|page=58}}</ref>

[[Christian Jacobs|The MC Bat Commander]], lead singer of the California comedy rock/New Wave/ska band [[The Aquabats]], would regularly breathe fire to start off the band's shows during the late 1990s and early 2000s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/548664/Aquabats-and-Mealticket-to-return-for-Ska-Patricks-Day-fest-in-Provo.html?pg=all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023174658/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/548664/Aquabats-and-Mealticket-to-return-for-Ska-Patricks-Day-fest-in-Provo.html?pg=all |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 October 2012 |title=Aquabats and Mealticket to return for Ska Patrick's Day fest in Provo |publisher=[[Deseret News]] |date=14 March 1997}}</ref> Mike Odd, the vocalist for the [[shock rock]]/horror metal band [[Rosemary's Billygoat]], included fire breathing in the band's many outlandish stunts, alongside other forms of small-scale pyrotechnics.<ref name="ShockGoat">{{cite web |url=http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2013/11/top_10_shock_rock_bands_of_all_time.php |title=Top 10 Shock Rock Bands of All Time |publisher=[[OC Weekly]] |date=21 November 2013 |author=Distefano, Alex |access-date=30 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331035435/http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2013/11/top_10_shock_rock_bands_of_all_time.php |archive-date=31 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Zoran Žikić, bass guitarist for the [[Serbia]]n and [[SFRY|Yugoslav]] hard rock band [[Kerber (band)|Kerber]], used to perform fire breathing on stage. In 1984, during an open-air concert, he got second degree burns while trying to perform fire breathing under windy conditions. After this incident he was forbidden by the rest of the band members to continue performing the stunt.<ref name="janjatović113">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title= EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960–2006|year=2007|publisher=self-released|location=Belgrade|page=113}}</ref><ref name="stanojević74">{{cite book|last=Stanojević|first=Vladan|title= Enciklopedija niškog rock 'n' rolla 1962 – 2000|year=2001|publisher=self-released|location=Niš|page=74}}</ref>

==World records==

===Simultaneous fire breathing===
The world record for the number of people simultaneously fire breathing was set on 23 April 2009 by 293 students in the Dutch city of [[Maastricht]] as part of the Ragweek charity event.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/Search/Details/Most-people-fire-breathing/56986.htm |title=Most people fire breathing |publisher=guinnessworldrecords.com |access-date=7 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819065523/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/Search/Details/Most-people-fire-breathing/56986.htm |archive-date=19 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Fire breathing pass===
In August 2007 the record for the biggest fire breathing pass was set at the [[Burning Man]] festival in the [[Black Rock Desert]], [[Nevada]]; a single breath was passed to 21 people before the flame went out.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/FIRE+BREATHING?cx=partner-pub-0939450753529744%3Av0qd01-tdlq&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=FIRE+BREATHING&sa=Search#858 |title=Fire breathing |publisher=Webster's online dictionary |access-date=7 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416041311/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/FIRE+BREATHING?cx=partner-pub-0939450753529744:v0qd01-tdlq&cof=FORID:9&ie=UTF-8&q=FIRE+BREATHING&sa=Search%23858 |archive-date=16 April 2013 }}</ref>

===Highest flame===
The world record for the highest flame is 8.05 m (26&nbsp;ft 5 in), set by Antonio Restivo at a warehouse in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on 11 January 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/Search/Details/Highestflame-blown-by-a-fire-breather/56581.htm |title=Highest flame blown by a fire breather |publisher=guinnessworldrecords.com |access-date=7 April 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120525142322/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/explore-records/ |archive-date=25 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Most flames===

The most consecutive fire flames blown by one mouthful of fuel (without refuelling) is 387, achieved by Tobias Buschick (Germany) in Neuenbürg, Germany, on 1 August 2015.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-consecutive-fire-flames-blown-by-mouth-(without-re-fuelling)/| title = Most consecutive fire flames blown by mouth without refuelling {{!}} Guinness World Records}}</ref>

The most flames blown in one minute is 189 (with refuelling) and was achieved by Zhu Jiangao (China) on the set of CCTV – Guinness World Records Special in Jiangyin, Jiangsu, China on 9 January 2015.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/fire-breathing-most-flames-blown-in-one-minute/| title = Most flames blown in one minute (fire breathing) {{!}} Guinness World Records}}</ref>

The most flames blown in 30 seconds is 55 (with refuelling) and is held by Christopher Campbell aka FenyxFyre (Canada) in London, Ontario, Canada, on 26 January 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Most flames blown in 30 seconds (fire breathing) |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/108154-fire-breathing-most-flames-blown-in-30-seconds |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=Guinness World Records |language=en-gb}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Fart lighting]]
*[[Fire eating]]
*[[Fire performance]]

==References==
{{More footnotes needed|date=April 2009}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://m.wikihow.com/Blow-Fire How to Blow Fire: 4 Steps – wikiHow]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170819221935/http://www.nafaa.org/ North American Fire Arts Association]}}
* [http://www.juggling.org/help/circus-arts/fire-eat/fire-eat.html Fire Breathing and Fire Eating FAQ] by [[Juggling Information Service]], 1996, retrieved 25 September 2006
*[http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/circus-arts/fire-breathing1.htm Fire Breathing Basics] by [HowStuffWorks]

{{Circus skills}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fire Breathing}}
[[Category:Circus skills]]
[[Category:Fire arts]]
[[Category:Sideshow attractions]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]