B.C. fire-stunt shop celebrates Academy Award win

From flamethrowers to full-body burns, for the past 20 years, Fire For Hire has been setting film and television scenes ablaze.

From flamethrowers to full-body burns, for the past 20 years, Fire For Hire has been setting film and television scenes ablaze, pushing the limits with each new stunt they orchestrate.

“Sometimes I scratch my head and say, what do you want me to do? This is the dumbest idea, but let’s try it,” said co-founder Colin Decker.

Their fire gel, which allows safe naked burns, was a game-changer and has just earned them an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement.

“There were a bunch of fire gels on the market,” said co-founder Dustin Brooks. “A lot of it was big, bulky clothing to do a fire burn. Now we get to see people’s skin, see people’s faces, see them on fire.”

They can execute any scene thrown their way now, but the backyard was once a testing ground for different recipes to get it right after the two joined forces decades ago.

“All of a sudden, you can see people on fire, hands, arms, stomachs,” said Decker. “People acting, it’s not a mannequin. It was huge.”

Both Decker and Brooks are also stunt performers who have since mastered the choreography of some very intense scenes, leading to some unforgettable on-screen moments.

“We did Deadpool 2, and we set Anthony Moyer on fire, and he won a Taurus stunt award that year, for that stunt,” said Decker.