Pyro was never my favourite of the X-Men, but that doesn’t mean I’m not excited about this DIY project allowing me to mimic his powers. It’s called Prometheus, and it’s by far one of the best wrist-mounted flamethrowers I’ve seen.

There have been similar projects in the past, but none actually produced such a controlled flame or came with building instructions as detailed as Everett Bradford’s Prometheus Device. And while I know that Pyro technically controls fire rather than actually making it, short of mutant genetics, this project is as close as we’ll get. And it’s damn awesome. [Prometheus via Make]

The heat emanating from the “pit” is controlled by an iPod-esque touch wheel, and a built-in projector adds to the ambiance by illuminating the glass logs with a video of flickering flames. Plus, the base gives you plenty of space for guests to place their drinks. Nobo is insanely expensive at $US2800, but you would be hard-pressed to find a living room centrepiece that has more going for it. [CL Designs via Born Rich]

The design of the Gyrofocus fireplace may be 40 years old, but it was still striking enough to be voted the “world’s most beautiful object” at this year’s Pulchra design competition. [Focus Creation via Gizmodo]

The Conmoto suitcase fireplace allows you to bring warmth and ambiance wherever you go (the casing is weather resistant so even the outdoors isn’t off limits). Conmoto is fuelled by a small tank of bio-ethanol that burns for 2.5 to 3.5 hours. [Unica Home via Gizmodo]

A fire pit built into your coffee table gives city folk all of the benefits of a campfire without actually having to venture out into the wilderness. I’m thinking s’mores. [Opulent Items]

The Lumos is more than an outdoor fireplace, it’s also a grill. Keep the chimney up and you have ambiance, flip it down and you have delicious meat cooking over charcoal. In other words, it warms you up inside and out. [Leenders via Gizmodo]

If NASA ever designed a portable fireplace (or a urinal), it might look something like the Piet. [Cavallius Design via Gizmodo]

The fireplace should be the focal point of the room, and the Skloib TV Drehturm allows you to stay true to that philosophy without compromising on the placement of your television. [Skloib via Gizmodo]

I have always wanted a woodfired pizza oven in my backyard, but not quite enough to commit the time and expense to building one myself. If you are willing, Forno Bravo has provided info on how to build an oven like the one pictured here. [Forno Bravo via Flickr via Gizmodo]

High pressure propane burners like this one are often associated with frying turkeys, but the truth is you can cook a lot of awesome stuff with it. I would suspect that a high percentage of people (like me) use these to homebrew 20-litre batches of all-grain beer. [Amazon]

These gigantic bear claw matches are as close as you will get to a guarantee on lighting a fire. The built-in kindling is a big plus, although the colourful, crayon-esque heads could be an invitation for your children to embark on an artistic disaster. [KM Match via Gizmodo]

The Wicked Torch is kind of like a cross between a flashlight, a lighter and a stove. At 4100 lumens, it is the brightest flashlight on the face of the earth according to Guinness. It’s also hot enough to burn paper, light cigarettes and cook eggs.

On the other hand, buying one might prove problematic. It appears that the 1666 and DCCCXVII A.U.C. (64 AD in the Julian calendar) are only in the prototype stage at the moment. [BBM via Core77]

What happens when a tree rubs up against a power line too much? The power line asserts some authority, and the tree turns into a giant tower of flames. Neat! [CollegeHumor via Geekologie]

These KM Firelighters are essentially gigantic matches — so big, in fact, that the kindling is built right in. I can’t imagine the fireball and plume of smoke these things emit when scraped against your rough, expendable surface of choice—seriously, each match is so large that you can count the tree rings—but I can appreciate the four, Crayola-like colours sure to tempt children into horrible colouring disasters.

Boxes of 20 go for about $3.20 apiece. [KM Match & Lighters via Red Ferret]

I guess it’s more Burning Man carnival ride than up and down wooden horse carousel — but still pretty damn cool. [Popular Mechanics]

After 11 days, Firefighters believe they have finally made progress battling the arson fire that has ravaged 148,258 acres of Angeles National Forest. That is a herculean feat, as these frighting time-lapse videos illustrate.

In a town so tied into the film industry, it isn’t surprising that local filmmakers would turn their cameras on the fire—showing us all just how fast a small flame can rage into something so utterly devastating. Check out Fast Company for the rest of the videos. [Fast Company and Yahoo]

It’s not self-lighting, which puts it one step below a serious flamethrower, but on the other hand it still lets loose with that always-hilarious BWAAAH! air horn sound when the trigger is pulled. Check out the video for some BWAAAHFWOOOSH! fire horn action. [Ariel Schlesinger via Hackaday]

What you’ll need:

• Air Tank
• Air Valve
• Plumbing Nipples
• Plumbing “T”
• 45 Degree Elbow (optional)
• Air Compressor Nipple
• PVC Fittings
• Teflon Tape

What you’ll get:

Now, if you still want to make one of these beasts after seeing that and you meet the required skill level of “Experienced and Insured” then check out this second video and the detailed instructions on Inventgeek. And don’t blame us if something goes wrong. [Inventgeek]