Differences between Fire & Combustion - Essay Example

Another relevant difference between combustion is that while combustion refers to the process that places between two or more combustible fuels, fire is usually the product of that process or reaction. Combustion is an independent chemical reaction that yields heat energy or products such as a fire in some cases. Fire is a rapid, dependent oxidation process (as it depends on the combustion process to exist) which is usually accompanied by the illumination of light and heat of different intensities. Combustion could be either rapid or slow depending on the purpose the combustion was intended for, while fire is usually rapid. Fire needs oxygen to survive, while the process of combustion does not necessarily need oxygen for it to take place. During the combustion process, the ignition temperature has to be reached before the emergence of fire and fire could only be ignited if the combustion process is rapid enough to produce this result.

It should also be noted that while the result of the process of combustion is desired as it is done for an intended purpose, such as the production of power, for use in industrial processes; the result of the fire is not always desired as it could be sometimes hazardous if it occurred as a result of an accident.