I have such an intense fear of fire

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Bonfires are OK, but I mean I have a fear of unwanted fires that occur in buildings. It frightens me but at the same time it depresses me too, and makes me feel so afraid of this world and the disturbing, unpredictable things that happen in it. I was on Facebook earlier and somebody wrote that a school on my bus route is on fire. I go by this school on my bus nearly every day, and it's always there, and now I'm hoping my friend just meant it's a small fire that won't make a lot of damage in the entire building, otherwise to see it completely burnt to a skeleton just freaks me out for some reason. I hate fires, they really frighten me and every night I get into bed, frightened that I might hear the smoke alarm suddenly going off in the middle of the night. I think I'd rather see the most hideously deformed mummified body hanging in the woods than to see some building burn down from fire.

I remember when I was little, under the age of 7, I used to cry when the firebell went off - not because of the noise, but because I thought it meant danger and that the building was going to go on fire, and it made me feel so frightened that I just wanted to go home. I remember when everyone evacuated the building, I would stand and cry and shake, and the headmistress had to comfort me. When I got to 8 I realised firebells meant just a practice, and I didn't mind them any more.

Does anyone else have an intense fear of fires to the point of seeing or hearing about one causing depression and anxiety? (My depression and anxiety issues aren't caused by fires, but hearing about fires makes me worried, if you know what I mean).

Yes on the anxiety front. It's a fairly recent fear for me, and it's because I was in a house fire. The fear is paralysing at times.

But, I don't get too depressed, at least I don't think, I'm not excellent at identifying my emotions.

Sweet Pea hugs

I also have an intense fear of fire. Both my mum and I have that fear.

I don't have an INTENSE fear of fire, but I do think a burned building is sad, more sad and frightening than a bonfire. A bonfire is pretty, a burning of junk. But a building often has a personality, and so I think that's why it's sadder. It would make me think about all the material stuff that went up in the fire, and it would make me think about the things in my own life that could also be lost easily.

I had a brief period of fascination with flames but mostly the times I've been close enough to see the destruction from a fire in progress have been rather anxiety inducing. A few years ago all of the surrounding mountain ranges were burning at once and it was practically Armageddon. Seeing it on the TV is too insulated that I don't perceive it as real, but that day we were scrambling back to the safety of our neighborhood in the flatlands it was very much as if Hell had arrived. Even a couple of years after that, I performed a Bill Nye-type trick that turned sour and I ended up with 3rd degree burns on my right arm. So while I have a little more respect for fire than I previously did I can still occasionally go out on the patio and chill in front of the fire pit

That's interesting. Humans are one of the few species on Earth who usually don't fear fire.

I assume you have working smoke detectors and fire extinguishers right? These are your best tools. Also make sure that you don't have a ton of electircal devices plugged into single outlet.

The way I view it, human life cannot be replaced, but almost anything that burns in a fire can be. My home burns down, insurance will pay for a new one. My friend dies, nothing on earth can bring her back.

No, not about fires, but I have many phobias, most of which don't affect my daily life, but one which does and yes I get immense anxiety. I can't use toilets/showers or go into bathrooms built between 1920-1979, so if I go into a building which is built in this era and hasn't been renovated, I have to plan in my head how I'm going to use the toilet or have a shower while I'm there. This causes me intense anxiety especially if I'm forced to use the one in the building. I know a lot about architecture so can pick an unrenovated building or shower/toilet block of this era miles away. Sometimes the anxiety get so intense if I have to go into the room (even just to wash my hands or something) I groan really loud and start stimming (most people don't know I have AS, they just think i'm eccentric/odd, and I hardly ever melt down in public so this is terrible becuase I can't think of any excuses to cover this behaviour up) because I can't deal with the fear. There are different magnitudes of scariness of bathrooms/toilets (I know you're laughing) so I understand when you say bonfires are ok but other fires are not (e.g. porcelain boxy 50s-60s pedestal sinks are terrible, but better if they're white and not pink).

I have a fear of fire I think it started when I saw a film where a man was falling off a cliff and he was on fire after that I had a nightmare about being in a burning building I woke up screaming I will never have an electric blanket as there have been stories about them catching fire and I would never touch a match.