On January 9, 2025, Prof. Jiao Lei delivered a popular science lecture titled Fire Science for 50 fifth-grade students at Sijiaotian Primary School in Lianhe Village, Liuzhi Special District, which is located in the mountainous area of Guizhou Province and more than 1,500 km away. It is the counterpart support unit of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).

The lecture began with a historical perspective on fire and introduced the importance of fire science research. A series of serious fire cases were presented to trace the origins and development of fire science. Then, the formation and development mechanism of various fires including wildfires, structural fires, and industrial fires, along with extreme fire behaviors such as fire whirl, fire storm, crown fire, and multiple flame merging were introduced. Finally, fire fighting technologies for today’s society are described, as well as the current frontiers and challenges of fire science research. In the interaction session, the students actively raised their hands and bravely put forward their questions and ideas based on real life.