INFLAMED OVER HIS PROFESSION

Rod Sipe preformed fire eating and magic for about 50 children and their parents at the Pizza Hut on Broadway Saturday afternoon.

Even though he's a "Master of Magic and Fire," Rod Sipe still gets inflamed about his work. Sipe, a professional fire-eater performed two shows in Cape Girardeau Saturday.

"Everybody who eats fire will get burned," Sipe said. "It's all in the degrees of what you're willing to do. It's like an Indy car driver, they know they'll crash. It's just a matter of how hard."

But it wasn't hard for Sipe to attract a crowd for his shows Saturday. About 60 people filled a room in the Pizza Hut restaurant on Broadway for the first show of magic and fire-eating tricks.

During his thousands of performances at fairs and festivals around the country, Sipe likes those where he's close enough to the audience to hear their comments.

"I like to be close enough to hear what you say," he told the crowd. "I've heard comments like 'Go for it' and 'Do it,' but I've never heard anyone say 'Don't do it.'"

Despite the shock of watching another person eat fire, no one in the audience tried to stop him. Some gasped with amazement while others stared in disbelief while Sipe swallowed 800 degree flames.

"They told me that if I was going to eat fire in a Pizza Hut I had to wear a chef's hat," he said, adding that the hat was probably OSHA-approved.

After 20 years as a professional fire-eater, Sipe realizes he now looks the part. Whenever he tells someone about his career, they don't seemed shocked at all, Sipe said.

"Now freak is in," he said, adding that his shaved head and tattoos seem to fit the fire-eater description although few people have ever seen one.

"I grew up in a circus winter headquarters, so my heroes were the magicians and sword-swallowers. When I went to the circus, that's always where I'd end up."

But Sipe didn't learn any of his tricks from those circus performers. Instead, he is a self-taught magician and fire-eater. "Some of the people you see on stage are really good actors," Sipe said. "But my show is really a magnification of my personality."

Sipe often tries to help young magicians with tricks and sleight of hand. "It seems like no one wants to share secrets, but it's really hard to learn from a book."

Fire-eating isn't really anything you can learn from a book either, Sipe said. "The fire is really very hot and real," Sipe tells each audience. "It's a dangerous trick and you can't really learn fire-eating like you can learn magic tricks."

For anyone who thought the show was an illusion, Sipe lit a torch, placed it in his mouth, lit his tongue on fire and then lit another torch with the flame.

"People assume that I'm blowing it out," he said of the flames. "But actually, I'm placing it on my tongue and then into my mouth and smothering the flame."

Since eating fire is an unnatural act and often creates some tension in the audience, Sipe likes to add humor to the show. "I tell them, 'I could die so I hope you like it' and that's funny."

But it's also true. A small accident could turn into a huge disaster.

Fortunately, Sipe always takes precautions. He shaves his head daily, although he tells the audience that his hair was burned off during a show, and tries to trim his beard often. But there wasn't much he could do when his contacts melted. His eyes were not harmed.

"You can have accidents," he said. "I learned my last trick by mistake. It's all about timing and technique."

The trick actually dries up all the remaining fuel in Sipe's mouth. He swallows a small torch and then shoots a flame out of his mouth.

Although Sipe is accustomed to the taste of white gasoline, it's not really very good for you, he said.