In Minecraft, how much damage does fire do?

Question

Tried Googling it a bit, yet never found an answer. Fire does damage at a rate of 1/2 heart per second, but how long do you stay on fire? How much total damage does fire do while not standing in it?

Answer 1

Once you are set on fire by a flame and you step out of it, if you are not wearing armor you take 3.5 hearts of damage at a rate of .5 per second and then you stop burning. If you are instead set on fire by lava, you take 7 hearts of damage. I tested this by setting myself on fire at every difficulty level.