Expert: Scott Fitzpatrick - 5/17/2002

Question
I am part of a performance troupe that does fire and blacklight poi. (Check out our site if you would like at http://poipixies.com)

I am interested into getting into fire breathing but don't know anyone locally who can teach me. From what I have seen the techiques of fire breathing don't look very complicated but I have heard that there is issues with swallowing bits of the fuel etc.... Can you tell me where I can learn more about this, what fuel I should use and if you know of any long term health concerns that seem to run within fire breathers.  

Answer
Hiya Dragonfly,
             Just had a good look over your website poi-pixies and I'm very impressed - looks really cool, and I wish you guys were based a few thousand miles closer to me !
Unfotunatly, where I live, here in England there are no local troupes to join, so I make do with entertaining friends and performing at outdoor parties in unused tunnels and forests, stuff like that.

Ok, so to answer your questions...
You're right - fire breathing doesn't look very complicated, but there are serious, serious issues with swallowing the fuel.
A friend of mine hiccuped during a performance and spent 3 weeks in hospital. Another old friend who shared my house came in from the pub once, and was so drunk he didn't notice the bottle he was drinking from had 'PARRAFIN' written on it in big letters. He took 2 hearty swigs and spent the next 48 hours on the toilet with unpleasant stuff coming out of both ends ! So it can be dangerous even if you don't firebreathe !
(but only if you're real stupid !!)

The fuel used in firebreathing is known in the UK as parrafin, in Europe and America it's known as Kerosene.
From the research I've done, these are identical fuels. I've used both and are quite safe.

Long term health is affected. Sad but true. The chemical 'make-up' of parrafin contains a lot of heavy-metals which are absorbed quite easily by the lining of your mouth which is why it's important to drink milk before a performance (something I'm not very good at remembering to do)
You should also find a warning statement on the container that states 'Can cause serious damage to the lungs' This is also true even if you don't swallow the fuel, the vapours you breathe in between each pillar of fire can affect your health.

After scaring you with all the 'heavy-stuff' I'll point out that I have been doing this for 8+ years now and I'm still alive and well and will be firebrathing as long as there is an appreciative crowd :)
The sound of the flames, the satisfaction of that big column of bright stuff coming from your mouth, the crowds cheering and clapping - it's all magical stuff and really, really good for the soul.

Usually I tell people that firebreathing is a skill which MUST be taught by an experienced firebreather on a one to one basis. I tell people this because the average person is too keen to get some flames going, will skip the necassary training and burn themselves - maybe fatally.

In this case I think you guys are obviously familiar enough with fire to realise the danger and so I leave it up to yourselves to decide when you want to move from harmless water to nice big flamey stuff :)

What I suggest is; fill a glass full of water. Go into your back garden. Spray the water from your mouth as far as you can.
You'll need to be practising two things here. Firstly to build up the muscles in your cheeks, lungs and throat. This will take a long time, not hours, not days but months and months of practice - remember, one mistake with fire and you're burned from the inside out.
The other thing you're practising here is getting the water to a state where it leaves your mouth as a very fine spray, almost a mist. This can prove to be very difficult to master due to the fact that you're also trying to get the liquid as far away from you as possible. The more "oomph" you have behind the liquid means a bigger flame and more applause!  :)


In the long term, try and find an existing firebreather who can teach you.

The advice I've just given you is only the very beginning, there is still quite a lot more to learn, but it'll take me ages to type out !  If you're still serious about wanting to learn, feel free to mail me again, letting me know how you're getting on and I can divulge some more stuff to you.

I was hoping I could also ask you guys a couple of questions too, you can reply directly to my email address which is scotty@lycos.com

Do you guys do fire diablo ?
(I use one but don't know many tricks)

Do you prefer steel cord or chain on your poi ?
(I prefer the weight of chain)

And are you Flaming, Magic or Elequent Pixie ?


Anywayz, I've gotta get back to work before the boss spots me (again!) I sincerely hope you got the answer you were looking for, and I'll look forward to hearing from you :)

Take care & play hard,

Scott