Advantages: All the accessories
Disadvantages: None

...Stand back everyone, the Lego Off-Road Fire Rescue vechicle is coming through! He's driven over hills and through woodland to get here, with his trusty trailer behind. This Lego fire chief is very happy- he has got his own helmet, as well as a special visor that is attached to his trailer. Also on the trailer is a water sprayer (useful for smaller blazes) and a fantastic hose that unwinds, meaning the Lego fire chief can tackle a fire anywhere. There is a cupboard for any extra gadgets you may wish to add and a special piece of fire- fighting equipment, with a cutting tool attached. If anyone is trapped in a burning building, the Lego fire chief can cut through the door with his cutting tool and rescue them. He can also test the temperature with his specialised fire equipment, to check if any other areas are under threat of fire... Read review

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Advantages: Realistic looking
Disadvantages: None

...This is a fabulous helicopter and great if your child likes fire rescue- it is great to play with on its own or would compliment the Lego City fire engine and fire car really well. The cockpit opens, lifting up so you can put the included Lego pilot inside. The rotor blades turn round and round like a real helicopter. There are water cannons on either side, which can be moved to point at the source of the fire- there have great water like blue pieces coming out of them...very realistic. It is great for role play- my son bulit a heli-pad for it with his other Lego. The fire stickers add to the look of the design. It often wakes me in the mornings when my son flies it over my head!... Read review

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Advantages: a look inside at the world of the firefighters
Disadvantages: lacks oomp in places

...The story line in Backdraft is about two brothers (the McCaffrey brothers) there is steven played by kurt russell and brian played by william baldwin. Arguements started when they were children and continued into adulthood as both the brothers join into the fire departments. Brian gets transfered into a section which specalizes in cases of arson. Rimgale played by robert de niro is working on a series of fires (backdraft) smouldering fires that go into fireballs. Brian meets up then with ronald bartel(donald sutherland) he is the person that wants to have the world in flames, a fire starter. Suspision is arroused in the form of an corrupt alderman from the city (J.T.Walsh). There is a lot of descussion and Brian then feels that it is his brotherthat is behind some of the fires. The fire is the main effect in this film and alot is made... Read review

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Advantages: Realistic effect, clean, good backup for central heating
Disadvantages: slight hiss

...The valor 617 is a coal effect gas fire. That is to say it operates on natural gas but the gas heats several layers of synthetic coal like blocks to give the appearance of a coal fire. The effect might sound a bit tacky but actually its quite realistic and there is something about glowing coals that somehow feels warmer. The big advantage of course is no messy fire to light nor ashes to clean and it all lights at the touch of a button. The only slight gripe I have with this fire is the hiss of the gas but you soon learn to ignore it. Whilst I do not use this as the main source of heat in my living room it does add an extra boost for those long winter evenings, and provides a useful backup when the central heating breaks down.... Read review

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Advantages: Burns hours of your time easily
Disadvantages: You risk looking really sad

...Fire Chief is a strategy game which puts places the game player in the life of a fireman. The game puts you in control of an American fire crew you control all of their actions, from putting fires out to rescuing people, to driving a fire engine. This game gives you total control of your team and trucks and lets you make the decisions. I got the game free and I was very skeptical as it looked a bit childish but I installed it anyway, the install was easy and the game runs very smoothly on a standard XP machine, the game has a very normal and easy to follow menu which follows the theme of many games. The Graphics are not great but this is compensated by the games AI (artificial intelligence) the fires in the game look very realistic, and behave realistically too. You can watch a fire spread around like you would expect. The way the fires... Read review

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Advantages: Learn a lot about what a fire can really do
Disadvantages: Poor acting in places, though

...An excellent piece of work here, and surprising to find Robert de Niro in it too as the arson investigator, a welcome surprise though, as the film could do with a bit of acting in it from time to time and de Niro manages to keep the artistic element alive. An arsonist is at work, and the fire department have to deal with it, and some of the fire scenes are unbelievable, both to watch and, if you are like me, (not hot on fire knowledge) believe. But the experts say that fire can really do what some of the scenes in this film depict, and there are some gory scenes indeed. This film is memorable both for some of the stunts shown and for making the word "backdraft" more a part of our language, as long as you can forgive the American spelling of the word.... Read review

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Advantages: Fit ted and supplied free of charge
Disadvantages: It might beep when you burn the toast

...I read your reviews about the benefits of owning a working smoke alarm and the need to maintain and replace the battery every year. The cost is a few pounds I hear you say. To the most vulnerable and needy in our communities this few pounds might make these individuals feel the cost is prohibitive. The thought that it will never happen to me. As a firefighter for the last 20 years I have lost count of the number of houses and families that thought "it wont happen to me "! that I have attended. The devastation that even a small fire can bring along with the loss of irreplaceable possessions and photographs is totally preventable. Lets get one thing right a smoke alarm will not stop a fire from starting, thats down to good housekeeping and vigilance. What a working smoke alarm does do is alert occupiers and neighbours, in ear shot... Read review

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Advantages: Warm, economical
Disadvantages: Need regular servicing

...If you want heat, get an old-fashioned one with white radiants (or chalks, as they used to be called). This is because they give off radiant heat, which comes straight out of the fire to warm the room at foot-level, as well as convected heat from the grill at the top. Fuel-effect fires are convector heater fires, so take much longer to warm a room, as they rely on the heat rising and then dropping again to floor-level, by which time most of the heat has been lost at ceiling-height. However, if you have a radiator in the room (or other heat source), which will be on at the same time as the fire</