This paper describes a ZigBee-based wireless sensor network node for the ultraviolet (UV) detection of flame. The sensor node is composed of a ZnSSe UV photodetector, a current-sensitive front end including a high-gain current-to-voltage amplifier with 120 dB and a logarithm converter, and a transceiver operated at a 2.4-GHz industrial, scientific, and medical band. A passive photodetector is designed to have a cutoff at 360 nm and convert the UV emission of flame into picoamperes. Including mixed signal processing and ZigBee transmission, the speed of flame detection is as fast as 70 ms. The sensor node consumes only an average of 2.3 mW from a 3.3-V supply. The performance of a prototype sensor node was verified when the luminous flame was imaged onto the sensor node with different angles ranging from -30° to 30 ° and distances of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 m enabling effective fire safety applications.