The Fire

Season 2, Episode 4, Aired
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Episode Summary

The office is forced into the parking lot for the day when a fire starts in the kitchen. To ease everyone's boredom, Jim suggests a game of "Desert Island" and "Who Would You Do?," where certain staff members reveal a little too much information about themselves. Throughout the day, Michael talks business with Ryan, leaving Dwight feeling left out.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (22)

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  • RYAN STARTED THE FIRE!

    9.2
    "Superb"
    By _seVen_, Jun 24, 2011 Report Abuse
    HILARIOUS episode, one of the best. The Office needs to be evacuated as a fire starts. The whole evacuation is hilarious, but it's really Dwight who makes the episode brilliant.

    His escape, his determination to get Michael's phone back.... priceless.

    The episode's ending is quite satisfying too. It turns out that Ryan started the fire, which gives Dwight a much needed satisfaction: even though Ryan is a member of a business school, he still doesn't know how to use a microwave, so they make up a song. H - i - l - a - r - i - o - u - s.moreless

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  • The Fire

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Canogaparkcindy, Sep 25, 2010 Report Abuse
    A really entertaining episode of The Office tonight, we've got laughs, romance, fires, and even singing. So sit back and relax, because this is a great Office episode. Jim & Pam going back and forth is what's really helping the show out, to be honest. It's that one thing that you tune in every week for, at least it was for most Office fans. For me, it was never like that. The Office was just something that was on, and it was entertaining and funny. Seeing Pam & Jim's relationship progress along the way was just the cherry on top.

    Amy Adams reprises her role here on The Office from season one. Katie is now Jim's girlfriend, and by the end, she is no comparison to Pam. We've also got Pam playing the jealousy game when she kisses Roy in front of Katie & Jim. All the "psychologically" revealing games were the most entertaining, and that's what made this episode what it was.

    It wasn't because of Jim & Pam, and it wasn't because Ryan went to business school. It was because of those games, and of course the amazing scene in which the fire occurred. Great ending with the song by the way. Great episode from The Office this week, recommendable.moreless

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  • Entertaining

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Mo_Course, Mar 22, 2008 Report Abuse
    Ok so this was the first episode of The Office i have ever seen after my friends have told me countless times to watch it and i have to say i am impressed. they have a lot of different personalities in their characters and they were all very funny to watch. at first i thought Michael and Dwight were just plain old annoying but after awhile i began to find them more entertaining, especially when dwight sung his song about the fire at the end. i had a bit of a hard time following because i thought Jim and Pam were going out but once i got everything straight, i really enjoyed this episodemoreless

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  • Ryan started the fire.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Mdinkle1, Jul 31, 2007 Report Abuse
    "The Fire", in my opinion, is one of the best episodes of "The Office". It has humor, great Jam moments, and, of course, Dwight singing, "Ryan started the fire!" Whenever I want to get someone else as hooked on "The Office" as I am, I show them this episode. "The Fire" centers on Ryan, the young temp sent to work at Dunder Mifflin, as he is reviewed by Michael, and given the "ten steps of business". Dwight becomes jealous of all the attention Michael is giving Ryan. Meanwhile, as a fire forces everyone outside, the rest of the Dunder Mifflin employees find out more about the people the work with by playing Desert Island, Who Would You Do, and Would You Rather. Overall, this episode is extremely funny, and one of my personal favorites. The only other episode that is above "The Fire" on my list of favorites would have to be the classic episode "Casino Night". There are plenty of memorable moments and quotes in this episode, and there are very few, if any, dull moments. I loved seeing Michael push everyone out of the way and run out of the building at the sound of the fire alarm, and then try to rationalize it by saying that they do not employ children, and that if he were to let the women out first, he would have a lawsuit on his hands. I also loved that most of the minor characters got their chance to shine by participating in Jim's games outside. I loved the pop culture reference to Lost, with Dwight asking if his shoes came off in the crash. One of my other favorite moments is seeing Dwight sulk in his car, listening to "Everybody Hurts", and Pam telling him that she bets Ryan wishes to himself that he were a volunteer sheriff's deputy on the weekend. The absolute best part of the episode, though, is definitely when Dwight comes running out of the building, coughing, and holding a burnt cheese pita. "I wrote a song just for the occasion, while I was up there among the flames," he says, and then launches into a modified version of "We Didn't Start the Fire", substituting "Ryan started" for "we didn't start". This is brilliant writing on the part of the writers of this show; it does not get much funnier than this. This episode had me laughing for days on end; I rewatch it all the time; and, even though I know what is going to happen, I still laugh at all of (and there are plenty) the jokes. "The Fire" was the first episode I bought for my Ipod, and the one I rewatch on it the most. I never, ever get tired of this episode. If you a looking for an absolutely hilarious, well-written and well-acted episode of "The Office", look no further. 10/10.moreless

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  • haha. fire. great.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By ilovemae, May 30, 2007 Report Abuse
    haha dwight. ryan started the fire!! wow good episode. everyone should watch it. its one of my favorites on the show. ahh i love it. and then who'd you do? that was great. Michael:[trying to be like jim] well i would do ryan because hes going to own his own business. wow i love this show. ha ha ha and desert island and angela would take the bible, a purpose driven life, and the davinci code so that she could burn it. ok so even though im sure every one who is reading this has watched the show every week like me, but if there is that chance you did not, you should start. =Pmoreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Michael's cell phone ringtone is the tune of "Mambo Number Five" by Lou Bega. Edit

  • Notes

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    • The German episode title is "Feuer und Flamme", meaning "Fire and Flame". The French title is "L'Incendie", and the Spanish title is "Fuego", both exact translations. The Italian title is "Regole", meaning "Do's and Don'ts" Edit
    • On the DVD commentary it is stated that this episode was the first one shot of the new season and was meant to be the season premiere, but that the network preferred "The Dundies." Edit
    • While there is the occasional oversight on this show, the writers and prop departments do a good job on details. For example, the fire truck has written on the side "Bureau of Fire, Scranton, PA" just like the trucks from the city. It does not have a generic message on the side. However, there is no truck 254 stationed among the ten engines and trucks in the city. Moreover, a Scranton firefighter claimed that the uniform colors the firefighters in the episode were wearing are all wrong. Edit

  • Quotes

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    • Dwight: Everyone, okay? Uh, I have an announcement. Apparently, in business school, they don't teach you how to operate a toaster oven. Because some smart, sexy temp left his cheese pita on oven instead of timing it for the toaster thing. Michael: Wow. Okay. Well, I guess they don't teach how to operate a toaster oven in business school. Dwight: That's exactly what I said. Michael: Hey, did you miss that day there, Ryan? Dwight: Were you absent? Michael: Toaster Oven 101? Dwight: You failed? Ryan: I am so sorry. Edit
    • Ryan: I don't want to be like, a guy here. You know? Like, Stanley is the "crossword puzzle guy". And Angela has cats. I don't want to have a thing... here. You know, I don't want to be the "something" guy. Edit
    • Jim: Okay, so, three books on a desert island... Angela. Angela: The Bible. Stanley: That's one book, you got two others. Angela: A Purpose Driven Life. Jim: Nice. Third book. Angela: No. Jim: Okay. Phyllis? Phyllis: Um, The DaVinci Code. Angela: The DaVinci Code. I would take The DaVinci Code, so I could burn The DaVinci Code. Edit

  • Allusions

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    • Ryan mistakes Michael's Yoda imitation for Fozzie Bear. Insecure stand up comedian Fozzie Bear was introduced on the first episode of The Muppet Show and has since become one of the mainstays of the Muppet franchise. Like Yoda, Fozzie was performed by celebrated puppeteer Frank Oz. Edit
    • When Dwight asks Jim, "Question, did my shoes come off in the plane crash?", this is a reference to Lost, where John Locke miraculously walks after being paralyzed. Locke first awoke on the beach after Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on an island. When Locke woke up, he noticed his shoes weren't on. Edit
    • On giving advice to Ryan, Michael says he's like "Mr. Miyagi and Yoda all rolled into one." Mr. Miyagi was the Japanese mentor for Ralph Macchio's character in "The Karate Kid" and Yoda also played a sage-like mentor character in "Star Wars." Both were known for giving brief, yet enigmatic advice, something that Michael, who spends the whole episode giving Ryan business tips, is a long way from emulating. Edit

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