Fire in the hole

Blasting machine used in mining

"Fire in the hole" is a warning that an explosive detonation in a confined space is imminent. It originated with miners, who needed to warn their fellows that a charge had been set.[1] The phrase appears in this sense in state mining regulations,[2][3] in military and corporate procedures,[4][5] and in various mining and military blasting-related print books and narratives.[6]

The term is also used by NASA to refer to the technique of staging a multistage rocket by igniting an upper stage engine simultaneously with the ejection of the spent lower stage, rather than the more conservative practice of delaying ignition several seconds after ejection.

Use in media and popular culture

In amusement park rides

In events

In films and television

This phrase is used extensively on film and TV sets by the special effects department whenever setting off effects charges of any nature (from weapons that fire blanks to a blood squib to huge fireballs). It serves as a warning to the crew that a loud sound is imminent and as a final warning to stop the shot if there are any problems in any department. As an observable example, the phrase is frequently used in MythBusters prior to explosives tests; the explosives technician or another cast/crew member will yell the phrase three times, in three different directions, just before setting off the bomb.

The phrase is also found in many movies and TV shows. For example:

In films

In television

In literature

In music

Albums

Songs

In OTC products

In video games

This phrase can often be heard in combat-related video games, such as America's Army, Battlefield 2, Battlefield 3, Brothers In Arms, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, CrossFire, Far Cry, Half-Life, Point Blank, SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, Sonic the Hedgehog, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Mass Effect 2, Postal 2, and others.

In spaceflight

NASA has used the term to describe a means of staging a multistage rocket vehicle by igniting the upper stage simultaneously with the ejection of the lower stage, without a usual delay. On the Apollo 5 unmanned flight test of the first Apollo Lunar Module, a "fire in the hole test" used this procedure to simulate a lunar landing abort. Gene Kranz describes the test in his autobiography:

The file-in-the-hole test involved shutting down the descent rocket, blowing the bolts that attached the ascent and descent stages, switching control and power to the ascent stage, and igniting the ascent rocket while still nestled to the landing stage.[9]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Fire in the hole". The Word Detective. October 10, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Illinois Administrative Code 225.55".
  3. ↑ "Idaho Administrative Code" (PDF).
  4. ↑ "Here comes the boom".
  5. ↑ "Blasting Standard Operating Procedure, Raytheon Polar Services Company" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "Google Books".
  7. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449089/quotes
  8. ↑ "Fire in the Hole". StopMyFire.com.
  9. ↑ Kranz, Gene (2001). Failure is not an option. Berkley Books. p. 215. ISBN 0425179877.