oh, that´s ok, I just didn´t know what you meant exactly.

in the maya docs there is a section called ->

Set particle attributes with a ramp texture

but I don´t quite know if this is solving your problem. I don´t have much experience with particles, but you can have a look at fluids. with fluids within the fluidShape node you can set parameters like Temperature and Fuel (to dynamic grid). then go down to the Contents tab and experiment with density, velocity, turbulence and temperature. besides those basic parameters you have lots of other options to simulate the creation of fire turning into smoke or anything else. try to get a tut on fluids. I think fluids are better for simulating such physical processes than particles. but thats only cause I don´t know much about particles..

good luck!