English

A fire drill (fire starting device).

Noun

fire drill ‎(plural fire drills)

1. An organized practice to prepare occupants of an office, school or other public building for evacuation in the event of a fire.
2. (idiomatic, US) Any pointless, unproductive, useless, or chaotic activity.

   Since they've changed the standards again, our previous efforts now just amount to a fire drill.

3. A fire starting tool consisting of rod and a bow which is used to rotate the rod on a flat surface like a drill until it is hot enough to start a fire.
   • 1999, Paul Douglas Campbell, Survival Skills of Native California, ISBN 0879059214, page 4:

     There is no machine on earth so potent, yet so simple and elegant, as the two sticks of the Native American fire drill;

Synonyms

• (fire starting tool): bow drill, fire stick, pump drill
• (pointless activity): Chinese fire drill

Translations