This study details the characterization and implementation of a burner designed to simulate solid propellant fires. The burner was designed with the ability to introduce particles (particularly aluminum) into a gas flame. The aluminized flame conditions produced by this burner are characterized based on temperature and heat flux measurements. Using these results, flame conditions are quantified in comparison to other well-characterized reactions including hydrocarbon and propellant fires. The aluminized flame is also used to measure the burning rate of the particles. This work describes the application of this burner for re-creating small-scale propellant flame conditions and as a test platform for experiments that contribute to the development of a particle combustion model, particularly in propellant fires. (C) 2008 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.