HouseFuel - How Have Humans Used Fire Throughout Time and For How Long?

Fire has been an essential part of human existence for thousands of years, helping communities survive in some of the world's harshest conditions and helping creative minds achieve amazing engineering feats using fire and its flames.

But how long has fire been part of our lives? And what have its uses been over time? Let's look at the story of fire and its connection to the human race throughout history up to the modern day.

How Long Has Fire Been Around?

It's heavily disputed how long humans have been actively building fires because it’s difficult to ascertain accurate dates from so long ago, but some estimates go back a million years. Even before the presence of homo sapiens, as humans are now known, there is evidence suggesting homo erectus learned to use fire as a cooking method. Some archaeologists even believe that fire was around for much longer than that, dating back over 400 million years ago.

Forest fires even helped humans to hunt in certain regions, as animals were easier to catch without the sight obstacles of trees. The ash from the burned trees would also help fertilise the earliest crop innovators.

What Has Fire Been Used For Historically?

Fire has been a vital heat source for people for as long as civilised society can be traced. Whether around an open fire in a field or in a Victorian-era stove, many couldn't live without fire. The heat produced by fire allowed many to cook safely with less fear of food contamination, sparing many from diseases by killing bacteria and making food much easier to digest.

Think about the earliest ways humans formed light; candles and torches have been used for an incredible amount of time, long before electricity was invented, to guide the way for many travellers and improve visibility at night. Weapons made from many materials were created using fire, too.

Then, as technology improved, fire was used to burn coal that would power transport, like the earliest trains, connecting communities over 200 years ago. Fire has also been used to forge steel and other tools, leading to many of the inventions we know and love today.

How Has Fire Use Changed in Modern Life?

As science and research improve, we know more about fire and every chemical within it; how much smoke is optimal to use and what kind of wood and coal is safe to burn is essential to human health and the environment. Climate concerns have forced governments to introduce legislation that helps limit the smoke output in certain areas so that less pollution will be felt and Particulate Matter won't harm the respiratory conditions of humans, meaning more smokeless fuel is being produced.

With less reliance on coal energy, for instance, other ways exist to power transport and provide energy. However, a home fire with kiln-dried wood or smokeless coal is a modern approach to getting easy-to-source solid fuel without the adverse effects of previous versions.

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