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ALL POSTSFirebending: the potential of putting out fires
<p>So I was thinking about this: Firebenders seem to be able to put out fires that are not controlled by other firebenders. (E.g. Mako does this during the explosion off the Water Tribe Centre). Also Sozin was able to redirect heat, and Zuko was able to survive an explosion (By presumable redirect the fire from the explosion). Could Firebenders be able to stop e.g. guns from shooting (if they where to be invented in the Avatar Universe)?
</p><p>In general: Can firebenders stop or put out fires, and to what extent?
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(Edited by AvatarAWEF14)
<p>I don't exactly know how guns work, but i think firebenders can't stop then. Sure, the bullet inside combusted, hence the projectile fires, but the cause of the bullet firing is the gun's hammer(right?) hitting the bullet.
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(Edited by James Arthius)
<div class="quote"><i>James Arthius wrote:
I don't exactly know how guns work, but i think firebenders can't stop then. Sure, the bullet inside combusted, hence the projectile fires, but the cause of the bullet firing is the gun's hammer(right?) hitting the bullet.</i></div>
<p>You still need the combustion of the flammable chemicals within the bullet to actually fire a gun; otherwise you just get the clicking sounds of the hammer and other mechanisms inside the gun. </p><p>Still, the combustion takes place within a tiny fraction of a second, so a firebender wouldn't be able to react fast enough to try to bend its fire/heat. </p>
I don't exactly know how guns work, but i think firebenders can't stop then. Sure, the bullet inside combusted, hence the projectile fires, but the cause of the bullet firing is the gun's hammer(right?) hitting the bullet.</i></div>
<p>You still need the combustion of the flammable chemicals within the bullet to actually fire a gun; otherwise you just get the clicking sounds of the hammer and other mechanisms inside the gun. </p><p>Still, the combustion takes place within a tiny fraction of a second, so a firebender wouldn't be able to react fast enough to try to bend its fire/heat. </p>
(Edited by D-Bunk'd)
<p>Aside from that, it's not exactly clear they can put out fires in the first place. We've seen them control the intensity of flames, so in theory it's possible, but we've never seen them cross the line to just snuffing out a fire that wouldn't have gone out on its own.
</p><p>When the cultural center was bombed, all Mako did was redirect the flames away from himself so he couldn't get burned, not actually put them out. Same thing with Zuko. Roku's heat redirection might be able to do it, even though we technically only saw it used on lava, but that's also a technique we've never seen anyone else do.
</p><p>Even assuming it can, how does it follow that being able to put out a fire means they can stop fires before they start? If that were the case, wouldn't Korra have just waved her hand & prevented Aiwei's bomb from going off to begin with?
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(Edited by Neo Bahamut)
<p>I don't recall if there's something similar in the series proper, but in one of the graphic novels, Zuko very clearly extinguishes the flames around the throne when he's Fire Lord. I believe all firebenders can snuff out fire, but since that's so contrary to what most of them do, people don't really give it a thought.
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(Edited by Omnibender)