Fire

Fire is a non-solid block which produces 15 units of light, causes damage to entities, and spreads to certain surrounding block types. It has animated faces on all four sides, and two more faces on the inside in an X shape. Fire makes a crackling sound that can be heard up to 15 blocks away.

The Player can create fire using a flint and steel or a fire charge. Ghasts and Blazes can also create fire, as can lava and lightning. Fire only spawns on its own in The Nether, and in The End (on top of the obsidian pillars).

Animals that normally drop raw meat will instead drop cooked versions if killed by fire.

A bow with the flame enchantment will shoot "flaming" arrows, though these do not produce actual fire blocks. They will light TNT, add damage, and cook animals, but will not produce light or spread fire to other blocks. Torches also appear to be on fire, though they are unrelated to actual fire and do not produce any of its effects except for light, and the melting of ice.

Behavior


Fire is not available for use in Classic mode. Flint and steel is one method used to place fire in the environment. When placed, fire will burn for a short and randomly determined amount of time. If nothing flammable is adjacent to it, the flames will not spread, and will die out. These are all the flammable blocks: Flammable blocks can eventually burn up. If you place a bed in The End or Nether and try to sleep, it will explode and create fire. Fire can melt ice, and TNT will detonate if exposed to fire. Fire will burn leaves slightly faster than the other flammable objects, indicating the game has different burn durations for different types of flammable blocks (though see Block Ticks to explain randomness in durations). Non-flammable blocks can be lit but do not burn away and will expire quickly. Two notable non-flammable block types are wooden chests and crafting tables.
 * Wooden planks
 * Wooden slabs
 * Wood
 * Leaves
 * Vines
 * Tall grass
 * Wool
 * Fences
 * Wooden stairs
 * Coal blocks
 * Hay bales
 * Bookshelves
 * TNT
 * Sponge (Pocket Edition only)

Mobs and players will catch fire when exposed to fire. Fire will obstruct the player's view slightly and they will slowly lose life at a rate of ½ heart per second. This is the same rate that the player gains health in peaceful mode, so fire alone will not kill you in this mode. Additionally, if one is wearing diamond armor and has a full hunger bar, said person will lose health slower in the fire block itself than when on fire.

Fire can be used to damage or kill mobs without causing them to become hostile to the player. Items or blocks falling into fire will catch light and quickly disappear. This trick can be used to dispose of unwanted materials, but it can also destroy valuable drops before they can be retrieved. Lava can set off TNT, but it may take several minutes to do so, and this usually gives time to clear the lava away before the TNT is triggered.



If a cow, pig, or chicken dies while taking fire damage, it will drop the cooked version of its usual meat; cows drop cooked steak(s), pigs drop cooked porkchop(s), and chickens drop a cooked chicken. This can be exploited by the player to not need to cook the meat. With a flint and steel, or a fire-enchanted weapon, all meat yielded will be cooked, and then eat the food there and then for its full potential.

Spread
Fire will spread over flammable surfaces, slowly causing all the blocks it can reach to burn away. Fire can climb up walls, across floors and ceilings, and over small gaps. More precisely, a fire block can turn any air block that is adjacent to a flammable block into a fire block. This can happen at a distance of up to one block downwards, one block sideways (including diagonals), and four blocks upwards of the original fire source. Therefore if the player is using it as a fireplace, caution is needed.

Fire spreads from a still lava block similarly: any air block one above and up to one block sideways (including diagonals) or two above and two blocks sideways (including diagonals) that is adjacent to a flammable block may be turned into a fire block.

Extinguishing
Fire will burn out after a while on its own, however the player may want to extinguish the fire as soon as possible to prevent damage. You can use water to extinguish the fire, but beware that it will take some time to extinguish the fire if the fire is spreading or is a huge fire. Punching or hitting the side of a burning block will extinguish the fire block 'attached' on that side. Hitting fire with a tool does not use up any uses for the tool. Placing water, sand, or gravel on the fire will also extinguish it. A player on fire can jump into water to extinguish themselves or use a bucket of water as a portable fire extinguisher by dumping the water at their feet to put out the fire instantly.

Eternal fire
Netherrack, a block found in the Nether, will maintain fire forever when set on fire, unless put out by lava, water or the player. It can therefore be a useful trap or defense material around the player's shelter; though the player should be reminded that while this is quite effective at killing hostile mobs, it's also a potential danger to passive mobs, the player themselves, and any dropped items that fall in the fire will be lost.

Lit Netherrack can be used as an alternative to torches. If the player is running low on coal, they can use Netherrack and flint and steel instead. Netherrack fire is brighter than a torch, and can be quickly extinguished. Note that rain won't put out Netherrack fire.

Bedrock in the End will also burn eternally.

If gamerule doFireTick is false, fire will last forever until it is put out by the player.

Trivia

 * Sometimes, in survival mode when you walk into a fire and then walk out very quickly you will not stay on fire.
 * It is possible for lightning to light a surface on fire during thunderstorms, but it will almost immediately be put out by the accompanying rain. In rare cases in SMP, fire may not get extinguished.
 * Though Wood Planks and logs are flammable, they burn up very quickly, making them nearly useless when making a fireplace, bonfire, etc. The only block that burns forever is Netherrack, along with Bedrock but only in The End.
 * Entities, such as mobs or items that are on fire do not emit any light (although they themselves appear fully illuminated). They also cannot set blocks around them on fire, even if they are flammable.
 * Most players choose not to make fireplaces in wooden houses, due to the fact that fire can burn down wood quickly.
 * The fire item is also used for an Undefined Item. This item can occur when a world with items of a mod is played without the mod. This item cannot be placed and will disappear when clicked on.
 * If you sprint over fire and jump (being still in the fire block), the sound will be as if you're walking on wood. Also, if you obtain fire with commands, mods, or inventory editing and place it, the sound is also wooden placement.
 * A Minecraft forest fire is much less dangerous than a real-life one. Burning trees in Minecraft can only create the usual one-meter fire blocks, as opposed to the multi-hundred-foot flames, convection winds, radiant heat and thrown firebrands that a powerful real-life wildfire can create.
 * Passing through a Nether Portal while on fire will no longer show the fire image on the screen, but you will technically still be on fire.
 * Flaming Zombies have a chance to set you on fire if they hit you.
 * Fire will be animated but not give off light when placed in an item frame.
 * If water is placed directly onto fire, the fire will be destroyed with fire particles and the accompanying "wood" sounds.
 * Before 1.5, on very slow computers, one could briefly see "FIRE TEX HNST!" instead of the fire animation. Notch confirmed that this was purposeful, and "FIRE TEX HNST!" was translated to "Fire texture, honest!"
 * Fire cannot be destroyed by a player in adventure mode without water.

In Pocket Edition

 * If you hack fire in early stages of Pocket Edition, it would be an orange square and when placed, it has no texture. However, if you place it near a flammable block, it would spread throughout the map.
 * Burning mobs turn orange and emit large fire particles around their body.
 * The fire spreading mechanic is based on how prior Beta 1.6(PC version)would be.