Erik Adams of "The A.V. Club" awarded the episode an "A–", noting that "'The Fire' is not the second season’s funniest half-hour, but I love it for its simplicity." Writing that the episode bore similarities to a bottle episode, he enjoyed the way that the conversations among the employees allowed the audience to more fully understand all of the individual characters better. Adams also praised the interaction between Carell and Novak, as well as the performance of Wilson, which he called "unsettling".