Ronnie Raymond

Ronald "Ronnie" Raymond is the metahuman known as Firestorm. He worked as a structural engineer on the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator prior to its catastrophic accident. He was engaged to Caitlin Snow. After becoming a metahuman, he was referred to by various witnesses as a "man on fire" and "the burning man."

Early life
Ronnie worked at S.T.A.R. Labs as a structural engineer, and helped designed the particle accelerator. She became romantically involved with Caitlin Snow and eventually got engaged to her.

The accident at S.T.A.R. Labs
Ronnie attended the S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator's activation with his fiancé. The two talked about their honeymoon just prior the particle accelerator was turned on by Dr. Harrison Wells. When Cisco Ramon joked about how it was anticlimactic, Ronnie commented they would be in big trouble otherwise. Just as the scientists of S.T.A.R. Labs started their celebrations, the gravity was temporarily removed, and they heard a loud bang. Discovering a chain reaction caused by an anomaly in the core chamber, Ronnie, despite Caitlin's objections, and Cisco went down to the core to shut the particle accelerator down manually. Before going into the core chamber by himself, Ronnie told Cisco to shut down the blast door if he was not back in two minutes. Cisco protested, saying he would not be able to reopen it, but was convinced after Ronnie pointed out everyone in the building would be dead if the blast was not contained. Inside, he adjusted the system so the explosion would go upward instead of outward, but was unable to make it back to the door until the two minute deadline. Finding the blast door closed, he told Cisco what he had done over the radio, causing the other man to leave to reset the particle parameters to compensate. Caitlin, who had arrived at the core shortly before, begged Ronnie to find a way to get out, but he told her the door would have to stay closed to protect her. When the core exploded, he was presumed dead and his body vaporized.

Becoming Firestorm
Unbeknownst to his friends and family, the explosion caused Ronnie to become a metahuman. His new abilities destabilized Ronnie's psyche, resulting in schizophrenic behavior. Unable to cope with his changing circumstances, Ronnie started living on the streets. His abilities were witnessed by various people, and Ronnie was referred to as "the burning man" on Iris West's blog. Around ten months after the S.T.A.R. Labs accident, Ronnie was accosted under the freeway by two muggers who taunted the shivering Ronnie by asking him if he was cold. Getting up, Ronnie demonstrated his abilities by sprouting flames from his hands and head, easily scaring off the muggers, and answered he was not cold.

A few days before Christmas, Ronnie followed his fiancé Caitlin Snow to the Central City Mall garage. He approached her as she was getting into her car, but ran away when she noticed him. Caitlin caught up to Ronnie, but, unwilling to face her, he covered his hands and head in flames to scare her off and escaped the garage. Later, Caitlin found Ronnie with the help of Cisco Ramon by following the ionized particles Ronnie emitted. When Caitlin tried to talk to him, he denied he was Ronnie Raymond and warned her to get away. Caitlin insisted they needed to take him to S.T.A.R. Labs to remind him of who he is, causing Ronnie to take her face in his hands and whisper, "Firestorm". He distracted Caitlin and Cisco with flames, and escaped the two scientists. That night, Ronnie arrived at the S.T.A.R. Labs just as the Flash was fighting the man in yellow, and saved the former by shooting flames at the man in yellow. When the man in yellow escaped, Ronnie warned Caitlin not to look for him before flying off by shooting fire from his hands.

Powers and abilities

 * Pyrokinesis: After Ronnie was trapped in the core chamber of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator, he was exposed to the explosive particles during its explosion. This led to him being able to sprout fire from his head and hands, using it to ward off muggers at night.
 * Flight: Using his ability to control fire, Ronnie can fly.

Behind the scenes

 * In the DC comics, Ronnie became the superhero Firestorm when combined with Professor Martin Stein in an explosion. Similar to how The Flash tapped in to the Speed Force for his powers, Firestorm used the Firestorm Matrix to transmute elements.