What Causes Fire to Produce Heat and Light?

[vorcil]

I thought it might've been some kind of Ionized gas, hense the light and heat coming from it,

but I'm not too sure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2LpCdhuOyQ"

 

[anneb]

According to http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/FAQs7.html#q97", we give the name "fire" to both a bunch of glowing matter particles and a plasma, which is a bunch of molecules that are so hot that the outer electrons have been knocked off and move around freely. Fire from a lighter is not conducting electricity, fire as seen from an electrical discharge is.