Fire iron should not be confused with Iron Fire.
A fire iron is any metal instrument for tending a fire.
There are three types of tools commonly used to tend a small fire, such as an indoor fireplace fire or yule log: the spade, the tongs and the poker itself. These tools make it possible to handle a fire without risk of burns or blisters.
A fireplace poker (also known as a fire iron) is a short, rigid rod made of fireproof material used to adjust coal and wood fuel burning in a fireplace, and can be used to stir up a fire. A fireplace poker is usually metal and has a point at one end for pushing burning materials (or a hook for pulling/raking, or a combination) and a handle at the opposite end, sometimes with an insulated grip. Iron is the most popular metal from which the pokers are wrought. Brass is a more expensive alternative for a home poker set.[1]
A slice bar has a flatter tip and can be used to stir up the fire or to clear the grates of ashes. Other fire irons include the fire rake (not to be confused with the firefighter's tool), fire tongs and fire shovel.
Many fireplace sets also include a small broom for sweeping up ash.
In Japan, traditional fire-tending device for a Japanese brazier (hibachi) is a pair of long metal chopsticks, called, used to pick up and manipulate the charcoal.
As a steam locomotive runs, by-products are produced by the coal fire such as ash and clinker. If these waste products are allowed to build up in the fire, there would be an adverse effect on the performance of the locomotive. A fireman will employ various fire irons in order to clean the fire, whilst the locomotive stands. Below is a list of different types of fire iron that would typically be carried aboard a locomotive during operation. Note: not all the fire irons listed would be carried at once, only the ones needed:
The earliest and most primitive pokers were likely made from the same material as the fuel (that is, wood in the form of a hefty branch). This wooden tool may colloquially be called a poker or a "firestick". The first successful mass production of stokers as a part of a fireplace-set was designed and manufactured in Cape Girardeau, Missouri by the RL Hendrickson Manufacturing Corporation in 1898 at a price of US$1. Today, one of the sets in fair condition can fetch more than US$3500 at auction.