# How long would it take Napalm/Flamethrower to disable a zombie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 19, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-napalm-flamethrower-to-disable-a-zombie/377154 "2006-10-19T22:33:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-napalm-flamethrower-to-disable-a-zombie/377154/21 "2006-10-22T10:02:13Z")
[QUOTE=mamboman] Threads like this just make me realise how woefully under-prepared we are for the inevitible, eventual zombie apocalypse [/QUOTE] Indeed, I often wonder how I would make it out of work alive in the event of a sudden zombie influx to Belfast. I reckon if I could band together enough people who were with it, I could seal off a great deal of the top of the building where I work, with, perhaps, intermittent access to the Great Hall for food. When I move office, I’m going to have to re-assess the situation all over again, but it looks doesn’t look that bad. An old converted house with access to adjacent buildings and thick front doors, lots of stairs, we could do it! ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-napalm-flamethrower-to-disable-a-zombie/377154/22 "2006-10-22T15:08:41Z")
According to the Return to Castle Wolfenstein game it takes about 15 seconds for a zombie to re-croak after using the flamethrower on it. It´s the best tool for the job. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-napalm-flamethrower-to-disable-a-zombie/377154/23 "2006-10-22T16:25:57Z")
Well, first of all, napalm and flamethrower are two different beasts. The flamethrower projects a flammable liquid; napalm is essentially gasoline in a jellied form. They would behave differently, and napalm would tend to burn longer, I should think. We must also consider the nature of zombies. As has been pointed out, it’s tough to cremate a human, being mostly made of water. Are zombies physiologically any different from live humans? Brooks says no, but in the original _Night Of The Living Dead_, a sheriff is heard to say “…burn 'em, they go right up.” My opinion: We may assume the sheriff was talking through his hat; I know for a fact that Brooks did more research than the guy in NOTLD. Brooks discourages burning the dead, as they tend to shamble around a while while burning before de-animating. Naturally, this is dangerous to you, me, and anything flammable near the zombie. We may take into account, though, exactly what fire does to the outer body, as explained by **gabriela** with no small eloquence. If the front of the zombie is hit, either by napalm or flamethrower, that zombie is going to be blind if it wasn’t already; the surface of the eye will dry out and the eyes will probably burst from the sudden drying effect and the heat. The sense of smell will be shot real quick, as the zombie must inhale to use it, thus frying his olfactory sensors. The sense of hearing will last somewhat, as the eardrums are located inside the head, but I’d imagine the zombie isn’t going to be hearing much aside from the crackle of flame and the sizzling of his own muscle tissue. Sense of touch goes quick, as the skin loses its nerve endings in third degree burns. This leaves the sense of taste, which I don’t imagine would be much good for navigation, much less locating and tracking prey. Unless that zombie has some sort of paranormal “life detector” sense, his hunting ability is pretty much … um… toast. Since any human can quickly detect and avoid a burning zombie (or let him have it upside the head or spine with a ball bat), we can say that this method renders the zombie incapacitated for all practical purposes. …aside from the danger to structures, naturally. And what delivery method are we using for the napalm? Air drop? That sounds kind of scary to people stuck in buildings at the target site. Or are we carrying it around in buckets to throw on the zombies? More information would be useful. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-napalm-flamethrower-to-disable-a-zombie/377154/24 "2006-10-22T19:54:25Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ll be at the morgue if the zombies arrive - feel free to hole up with the rest of us freedom fighters. Somehow the morgue doesn’t seem like the best place to hole up during an outbreak of zombies. Wouldn’t that pretty much be Zombie Central? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-napalm-flamethrower-to-disable-a-zombie/377154/25 "2006-10-22T22:12:35Z")
What about a flaming arrow? The arrow would knock them down/away while burning, giving you time to escape assuming you’re not in a dead-end situation. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-napalm-flamethrower-to-disable-a-zombie/377154/26 "2006-10-23T00:19:54Z")
[QUOTE=Master Wang-Ka] Well, first of all, napalm and flamethrower are two different beasts. The flamethrower projects a flammable liquid; napalm is essentially gasoline in a jellied form. They would behave differently, and napalm would tend to burn longer, I should think. [/QUOTE] Que? Many of the technical references to flamethrowers (U.S. flamethrowers, at least) from WWII onwards say they _used_ napalm for fuel. Not the _only_ fuel it’s possible to use, and not what the original flamethrowers were designed around, but they’re not different animals. [QUOTE=MEBuckner] Somehow the morgue doesn’t seem like the best place to hole up during an outbreak of zombies. Wouldn’t that pretty much be Zombie Central? [/QUOTE] Not necessarily…if the zombies _came_ from the morgue, they probably wouldn’t _stay_ there—no food. Same with graveyards. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-napalm-flamethrower-to-disable-a-zombie/377154.md?page=1)