The X-Files: Fire

 1.12 "Fire"

In Bosham, England, a British lord bids farewell to his family as he 

leaves home. On his way out, he stops to greet his gardener, Cecil. He 

turns to wave to his family one last time, and as he does, his sleeve 

ignites. He is quickly engulfed in flames and everyone stares in horror, 

except the gardener who watches without the slightest hint of emotion. 

Mulder and Scully head to their car in the FBI parking garage. Before 

they enter, Mulder notes that the door on his side was unlocked, yet he 

remembered locking it earlier. Inside the car, they discover a cassette 

tape which is sitting on the dashboard. Curious, they play the tape, on 

which a woman's voice describes how a man was killed in his car aftering 

playing a mysterious tape he found inside. It goes on to say that the 

doors on the car were tied to the explosives so he couldn't open the 

door to escape. At that point, Mulder's door opens and an attractive 

woman greets them cheerily. 

The woman, Phoebe Green, is from Scotland Yard and attended the same 

English school as Mulder. She kisses Mulder and asks him for his help. 

Her assignment is to protect a visiting Parliament member while he stays 

in the US. Several Parliament members have been killed recently by being 

burned alive. In each case, the wife of each lord received an anonymous 

love letter, as Mrs. Malcolm Marsden, the wife of the visiting lord also 

has. 

She calls it a "three-pipe problem," making reference to Sherlock Holmes 

and something in Phoebe's and Mulder's past. Scully looks rather 

uncomfortable as the two reminisce. Mulder tells her that he will 

mention it to the FBI's arson experts, but she says that the previous 

deaths appeared to be spontaneous combustion. Fox asks if there is the 

possibility that the killer is pyrokinetic.

Meanwhile, the Marsden family arrives at their temporary home in Boston. 

We see "Cecil" painting the house. He lights a cigarette using his 

powers, then walks over to introduce himself as Bob the house's 

caretaker. As the Marsden's enter the house, they notice a portrait on 

the wall, which bears a striking resemblence to Mrs. Marsden, but they 

shrug it off as coincidence. They return back outside to call their dog 

who is digging around the bushes and a dead body.

As it turns out, Mulder is pyrophobic. When Scully offers to help him, 

he declines, telling her that Phoebe enjoys playing mind games with him. 

When he was younger, he watches as a neighbor's house burned down. He is 

determined to face up to his fear.

Later that night, Bob is peeping in the kitchen to watch Mrs. Marsden. 

Then he goes over to talk with the chauffer, who is coughing very 

loudly. Bob asks him for a cigarette and then asks if there is anything 

he can get for the chauffer while he goes into town. The driver asks him 

to pick up some cough medicine. Bob goes to a local bar and sits down 

for a drink. When a woman attempts to pick him up by asking him for a 

light, he creates a small flame which emerges from his fingertip. She is 

delighted by the trick and points it out to everyone else in the bar. 

When she turns to look back at Bob, his entire arm is now aflame which 

sends everyone fleeing before Cecil sets the bar alight.

Phoebe and Fox go to the hospital where the woman from the bar is being 

treated for burns. She tells him about the previous night, but she is 

reluctant to talk about Bob because she is currently living with someone 

and doesn't want them to know. But she finally relinquishes the fact 

that Bob had an English accent and acquiesces to make a police sketch. 

Back at the home, we see the chauffer bent over the toilet vomiting as 

Cecil looks on. He also befriends the Marsden children by showing them a 

magic trick with cigarettes. Mrs. Marsden comes down and asks if Bob 

will drive them around since the chauffer is sick. 

At FBI headquarters, Scully examines the files on the arsonist and 

begins to write a profile into her journals. She claims that the 

murderer is probably a 25 year old male who is psychologically 

unbalanced and kills to compensate for his own sexual inadequacy. The 

killer becomes obsessed with a woman who he cannot have. She is certain 

that he has already arrived in the U.S.

Phoebe and Mulder book a room in a hotel where the Lord will be 

attending a reception. Phoebe enters the party and Mulder receives a 

phone call from Scully telling him that she will be coming up to Boston 

to give him some information about the arsonist. Coming back out of the 

party, Phoebe asks Fox to dance with her. Scully arrives at the hotel 

and watches silently as the two dance and kiss. Jealously, Scully turns 

around, nearly bumping into Bob in the hallway. Bob walks past.

As she waits around the corner from the dancing couple, she glances at 

the hotel's alarm system, where a fire in indicated on the 14th floor. 

She interrupts Mulder and tells them. The Marsden children are staying 

in a room on that floor, so Mulder runs up the stairs to save them. 

Scully alerts the hotel personnel about the fire.

It is the childrens' room which is on fire. Mulder pauses before 

entering the 14th floor then rushes in. He crawls along the floor of the 

hallway, but begins to cough as the smoke enters his lungs. His phobia 

asserts itself again, and he begins to retreat back down the hall, but 

he collapses. Bob then runs out of the room with the children with him. 

He arrives in the lobby and is greeted as a hero. Phoebe thanks him 

while Scully is busy checking on Mulder, who the firemen have dragged to 

safety. 

When he awakens in the hotel room, he is upset with himself for 

panicking. Phoebe enters the room and Scully asks her about if the 

chauffer is trustworthy. Phoebe indicates that she chose the chauffer 

herself and tells them that she feels the threat to the family is over 

and that she will be returning to England with them.

The next day, Scully shows Mulder her findings. One of the dead lords 

employed a gardener named Cecil Lively. But Cecil Lively died in a fire 

in 1963 while still a child. Yet Cecil Lively obtained a visa recently. 

Fox goes off to warn Phoebe in Cape Cod. After he leaves, a police fax 

arrives of the man in the bar. It is clearly Bob. Scully tries to call 

Mulder on his car phone, but is unable to reach him.

When Mulder arrives at the Marsden home, he rushes in the door, to 

discover Lord Marsden and Phoebe kissing. He tells them to pack and 

leave quickly because there is still a danger. Cecil is watching from 

the top of the stairs.

Mulder returns to the hotel where Scully shows him the fax of Bob. And 

they rush back to the house. Mulder goes upstairs and finds the body of 

the chauffer in the bathroom. Suddenly the room catches fire and Mulder 

tries in vain to beat it out. He realizes the children are still 

upstairs, so goes to rescue them, but when he enters the hallway, he 

finds Cecil waiting for him and with a snap of his fingers, he sets the 

ceiling of the hallway on fire. 

Cecil goes down the stairs and is met by Scully aiming a gun at him. He 

laughs at her and comes down anyway. From the side, Phoebe surprises him 

by dousing him in the face with the same fuel he put in the house paint. 

Stunned, he stumbles out into the yard.

Mulder comes to term with his fear, and breaks down the door to the 

kids' room and comes down the stairs with them safe. They run outside as 

Cecil has finally shaken off the confusion. He prepares to attack them, 

but instead, ignites the accelerant coating his body. Before he 

collapses, he screams, "You can't fight fire with fire!" 

Miraculously, Cecil survived the fire and has been admitted to a high 

security hospital where he is kept in a room containing no flammable 

materials. He had suffered fifth and sixth degree burns but has a 

remarkably fast healing rate and should recover fully in about a month. 

The reports show his normal body temperature to be 107 degrees. In his 

room, he looks out from his confining chamber and joking asks his nurse 

for a cigarette. 

Phoebe leaves without saying goodbye, but has left Mulder another 

cassette tape. When Scully enters, he tells her he has no intention of 

listening to it. She smiles and asks him if he would like to go for 

lunch. 

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Summary by Cliff Chen, 1993