"Steemit Engagement Challenge S11/W1 - Perhaps if man had not invented fire, what would this earth have looked like?"

It was very early in the morning. At around 12:30 am in 2015, news broke that a certain section of the Ariaria Intl market is engulfed in fire. Many shops were burnt down, pgoosa and properties were lost. Granted, there was no human casualty because it happened at a time when men were asleep in this part of the earth, but many whose source of livelihood came from there were turned wretched overnight. Some even left the city and went back to there villages since they cannot afford rent gain.

Fortunately, this type of incident have not happened for some 4 years now, but there used to be a time when it was yearly occurrence, especially between the last days of December and early January.

Another incidence happened just the next building by after ours at 201 Cameron Road Aba, Abia State. That was early January, I can't recall the year precisely. I and my kids had traveled to Lagos to visit my older brother for the December holiday, but my husband stayed behind. That building got engulfed at about 1am. It was a nightmare. Thank goodness that people quickly came around and tried their best to put up the fire though they weren't able until the fire service came around. It nearly entered our own building and you know what that can mean. The properties in that building were not saved at all. Everything burnt down before the fire was finally quenched. Thanks to those neighbors both far and near that came around to control the fire to a reasonable extent.

On 2 occasions, I had left my food on fire and slept off, only to perceive the smell of a burning food in my dream and waking up imediately, everywhere was engulfed with smoke. Thank goodness that I woke up. I wonder the stories to tell if I survived it. It wasn't funny at all.

There were just few incidences showing how destructive fire can be.

These exactly came to my mind when I saw this contest topic by this community. I will like to invite @mesola @drhira and @karianaporras to take part in this contest if they have not done so.

Perhaps if man had not invented fire, what would this earth have looked like?

Well that would or would not have been hard to say. Man have the capacity given to him by his creator to use resources around him for his own good.

_{fire from a handheld lighter. I took the image myself using my Tecno phone.}

If fire was not discovered, many things done today would not have taken place. For example, we need fire to cook the food we eat, especially the meat we enjoy eating. We would not have enjoyed eating it raw, that would have brought us closer to being cannibals. What of the wonderful barbecued fish and meat we do enjoy, that would all have been a myth.

In many colder regions, many would be frozen and activities frozen too due to lack of heat and fire.

The sure thing is that life would not be as interesting as it is right now.

But man could have adapted and there could have been other things to sustain life. The creator who is all wise could have made life very interesting and we wouldn't have known that there is anything called fire. It would have been normal not to have fire.

Man is made in a way that they can adapt to any situation no matter how it is. So, if the creator of life didn't help man to discover fire, life would have still exist if he wanted it that way. But no, he gave man the wisdom to discover fire. And for that, I am grateful.

How do you think man discovered fire

Fire comes about with the availability of three basic elements.

° Oxygen

° Heat

° Fuel.

Once these elements are present, fire can ignite at anytime.

I have heard several stories about how many discovered fire. The summary of all of them is that the Golden Aged man hit two stones which sparked fire on dried leaves gathered by him

So no one can say for sure who discovered fire, but it could have been from any source. It could also have been as a result of the action of lightening,

But one thing that is true is that, these elements that are responsible for fire have been there right from creation of the world.

Just as the Almighty gave man the wisdom to harness other elements for their good, likewise he gave them the ability to discover fire.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of fire?

Fire has a lot of advantages and disadvantages. But the ones I am able to recall are listed below

Advantages

• Fire can be used to control and maintain the earth ecology. Sometimes, some animals and pests population gets out of control. So fire could be used to control that knowingly or unknowingly. Like it was used sometime ago in Australia.

• Fire can also be used to cook food, provide lighting in dark places in form of electricity.

• Fire is used to keep ourselves warm during cold and rainy seasons. In fact, the Almighty himself understands that man needs warmth and that 2 bodies can come together to provide heat for their body when he said the below

Moreover, if two lie down together, they will stay warm, but how can just one keep warm?(Ecclesiastes 4:11 of the Holy scriptures)

• Fire can also be used to destroy or burn unwanted items, even dead human bodies, which is known as cremation, like is being practiced in some countries.

• Fire is also used for production and mining of valuable item and minerals for man's use including it's refinement like the precious stones (gold and so on)

_{these locks wouldn't have been made without fire. This image is my property}

Disadvantages

• The heat that is generated by fire bring about global warming, which leads to distorted climate changes and destruction of the earths greenhouse.

• Fire when uncontrolled can bring disaster to earths ecological system.

• Fire and its residues have been great sources of pollution on the earth.

• Fire have caused wanton destruction of lives and properties like the one mentioned at the outset.

• Fire and its smokes can cause serious respiratory issues for humans sometimes leading to death.

Is fire essential for us or not?

Fire is very important in our lives. As humans, we can not do without fire. Having listed out the importance of fire, we can see that it is a must for all of us. So it is very essential.

We can keep warm, prepare foods, in fact, all most of our lives depends on fire and it's activities just like water.

How should we handle fire for a safe environment?

Having seen that fire is essential, we must think of ways to safely handle it.

We must remember to always turn off the stove or gas cooker while answering a call on the kitchen.

Ensure that matches or lighters are kept out of the reach of children.

Ensure we have smoke detectors in our homes to quickly alert us of any danger.

Keep items like fuel very far away from the house or anything that can easily ignite fire. Do we know that perfumes, body sprays and their containers are easy fuel for fire?

Do not keep your phone on your sleeping mattresses while plugged to charged while sleeping or not.

There is need to educate our wards on what to do when fire erupts. We should look for the next exit doors. Always try to identify the exit doors of any building we are. Like I always educate my kids on what to do when such incidence occurs whether we are there or not. And when it happens, they are to

stop, drop on the floor and roll their way out from the room. There is more oxygen under when the entire room is engulfed.

Conclusion

Fire is important in our lives. Just like we need water to survive, we also need fire. However, proper care and education will be of help in order to safely handle fire and issues related to it.

However, if fire were not discovered by man,life would have still be normal because the Almighty would have ensured that man still enjoy life on earth the way he wanted.

But thankfully, we have discovered fire, hence, let's trade cautiously with it because the line between life and death when it comes to what fire can accomplish is not far.

Success to everyone when using fire!

Cc: @patjewell