codeigniter bonfire php error after installing

codeigniter bonfire php error after installing

I'm trying to install codeigniter bonfire. After clicking the install
button on the create username screen, it takes a few moments and then it
loads this page. I watched some tutorials on how to install bonfire so I
know this isn't what I should be seeing.
Regardless, I updated the RewriteBase to /bonfire/ as it says..and now I'm
getting this error when I try to go to localhost/bonfire/index.php
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected 'yield' (T_YIELD), expecting
identifier (T_STRING) in
/opt/lampp/htdocs/bonfire/bonfire/application/libraries/template.php on
line 305
I found this link on bonfire forums explaining the error. Bonfire forums link
It says to use PHP 5.4 and that's what I'm using. My operating system is
Linux Zorin and I'm using lampp, so I'm not sure if this could be a
permissions issue.
thx in advance and please let me know if you need more info.