There's more than one kind of fire in Blender. There is fluid-based (smoke simulator) flames and there is particle flames. I'm still too much a noob to explain adequately, but they behave quite a bit different. Maybe somebody who has been at it longer will chip in and explain where each works best.

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Barbequed Pixels?

Your friendly neighborhood Wings3D nut.
Also feel free to browse my freebies at ShareCG.
There might be something worth downloading.