There is something intriguing about playing god in The Sims 4, creating an entire world of characters, environments, and storylines as you see fit.
Still, one of the funniest ways to play the game is to make your Sims struggle, with fire being one of your primary weapons of chaos.
In this fire guide, you’ll find out how to become a virtual pyromaniac and use fire to destroy your innocent characters’ belongings in The Sims 4.
How to start a fire in Sims 4
There are many ways to provoke a fire in Sims 4, or at least to make it more likely to happen, but these are the best ways to start a fire.
1. Cooking food with a poor chef
First, you need a Sim that has very low Cooking skills. Next, make them use a cheap stove – purchasable in Build Mode. They won’t start a fire every single time, but they’re very unlikely to get through three tries without starting a fire.
2. Place a fireplace near some flammable objects
Fireplaces in The Sims 4 are safe, but there are ways to sabotage them and create fire hazards. The trick is to enter in Build Mode and position objects as close as possible to the fireplace, or even just purchase a rug and place it underneath the fireplace.
Then, back in Live Mode, you must use a Sim to light the fireplace; eventually, the objects around the fireplace will catch ablaze.
3. Give the kids the Wizard Set
To start a fire in this way, you’ll need to enter Build Mode and buy the ‘Junior Wizard Starter Set’ for §210. Get a kid to use the set, preferably, for hours. A fire will eventually start, but not to worry: kids and toddlers can’t die in The Sims 4.
To make the fire more efficient, place some objects around your little arsonist to let it spread more easily.
4. Use a cheat code to start a fireplace
If you want something a bit more straight to the point, there are a couple of cheat codes that can help you.
To enter cheats on The Sims 4, press Ctrl + Shift + C on the keyboard. If you’re playing from a PlayStation or an Xbox, press all four triggers simultaneously. Once you’ve activated the cheat input, a white bar will appear at the top of your screen.
In the cheat bar, type sims.add_buff BurningLove to increase your chances of causing fires for four hours.
If you feel incredibly evil, you could burn your Sim by typing stats.set_stat commodity_Buff_BurningLove_StartFire 7 into the cheats bar a few times.
How to stop a fire in Sims 4
If you accidentally light your Sims on fire, you could send them straight to the shower to extinguish the flames and save them from an awful death. However, this particular technique doesn’t work with bathtubs or Jacuzzies.
To stop a raging blaze, however, you’ll want to use these methods for stopping a fire in Sims 4.
1. Grab the fire extinguisher
All adult Sims possess a fire extinguisher and can use it if needed. To stop a fire by using a fire extinguisher, click on the flames and choose ‘Extinguish Fire.’
It doesn’t work every time: sometimes, the fire is simply unbearable, or your Sims may be too panicked to approach the situation calmly.
2. Install smoke alarms and sprinklers
One of the best ways to, eventually, stop a fire is to go into Build Mode and buy a smoke detector, known as the Alertz Smoke Alarm, which costs §75. The alarm will not prevent the fire, but it will send your address to the firefighters, who will then come to your house and help you to manage your smokey situation.
If you still don’t feel safe enough, purchase a ceiling sprinkler for §750 and position it over the lot’s most dangerous room. If a fire starts, it will activate and extinguish the flames immediately.
3. Stop all fires with the cheat code
Unfortunately, there isn’t a cheat code to stop a fire in Sims 4, but there is one that prevents fires from happening in the first place. To get a fire-free game experience, activate the cheats bar and then type in fire.toggle false.
So, if you want to start a fire, try placing objects near fire hazards, but if you want to stop fires in Sims 4, be prepared with some sprinklers.