Abstract Perhaps the most dramatic example of surprising behavior when circulation is imposed on a combustion-driven flow is the fire whirl, where the burning gases form a tall slender column. Relatively few studies have addressed the influence of circulation on the development of combustion-driven flows. Three dimensionless parameters characterize this interplay: the Froude number, the swirl number and the Reynolds number. It is surprising that for most studies, even with plausible assumptions concerning the experiments, not enough information is given to determine the values of these parameters. We will experimentally reconstruct these studies in an effort to characterize parametrically these interactions. Both buoyancy-driven and momentum-driven combustion processes will be investigated to determine the influence of circulation. Theoretical studies will occur in conjunction to provide the most complete parametric investigation.