Sound of fire? Expert heads for lifesaving equipment (7)
I believe the answer is:
crackle
'sound of fire?' is the definition.
'crackle' can be an answer for 'sound' (I know that crackle is a type of rattle). I'm not sure about the 'of fire?' bit.
'expert heads for lifesaving equipment' is the wordplay.
'expert' becomes 'crack' (as in 'a crack team').
'heads for' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letters of 'lifesaving equipment' is 'le'.
'crack'+'le'='CRACKLE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for crackle that I've seen before include "Snapping sound of a bonfire?" , "Sound of burning wood or squeezed paper" , "(Make) slight sharp sounds" , "Sound as of burning sticks" , "Make the sound of a fire" .)