What is Fire?
The Definition of "Fire"
Pick the correct definition of "fire":
The burning of some fuel, creating a flame that releases light and heat.
An uncontrolled chemical reaction producing light and sufficient energy.
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
A rapid oxidation process, which is an exothermic chemical reaction, resulting in the evolution of light and heat in varying intensities.
Rapid oxidation with the evolution of heat and light; uncontrolled combustion.
The effect of combustion.
Which one is right, and which five are wrong?
YES! It is a trick question.
Answers and Citations (don't cheat and click before you decide which definition is correct)
The answer is all of them are correct, and none of them are wrong.
Quintiere - Principles of Fire Behavior, 2nd
NFPA 921, 2021ed
DeHaan/Icove - Kirk's Fire Investigation, 7th
They are all correct definitions of "fire"
What your opposing legal counsel is expecting.....
Most counsels are expecting the origin and cause expert, or any fire expert, to use #4, "A rapid oxidation process, which is an exothermic chemical reaction, resulting in the evolution of light and heat in varying intensities." This is the definition from NFPA 921.
All of the answers are correct and certainly no lawyer will be able to argue against the definition that fire is "The effect of combustion" least he or she be willing to toss out Black's Law Dictionary.