Making Fire

The ability to make fire is what sets us apart from every other animal on the planet. Fire provides us with heat and light, as well as the ability to cook food and boil water. Fire also allowed us to develop metal working technologies and chemistry. It could be said that fire is what makes us who we are today, yet many of us have no idea how to make and maintain a fire in the wilderness. When most people today think of fire, they think of their BBQ or gas fireplace or their lighter for their cigarette. In these cases fire simply appears at the touch of a button or striking a match. Instant flame. However, flame is not fire.

This fire was created from a single match using damp materials. Fire in the wild takes patience and practice.

single match with a promise

smoke and struggle

crackling fire

Basic Fire

So let's say you are well prepared, this is not a survival situation, simply camping in the woods on a pleasant day. You need to make fire to roast some hot dogs and maybe make s'mores later on.

So what is it that you need to get that fire going safely and to keep it going well into the night? Every fire needs 3 basic things:

1. Ignition source

2. Oxygen

3. Fuel

We'll say you have brought a box of wooden matches. I got 500 Redbird Matches at Walmart for a couple bucks. I fill my waterproof match container with them as well as a piece of the striker from the side of the box. Now I have seen people pile up some sticks and grab the matches and try to get a fire going. I have also seen this work but only in the driest of circumstances. In most cases you will have to do a little planning and preparation. Fire safety is always your first priority. So if your location has a fire pit then use it. If you are in the wild you will need to prepare an area for your fire so that when it gets bigger you can contain it and keep it from spreading. Forest fires are a serious thing, you don't want to be responsible for starting one. So you need to dig a shallow pit. Get all the dry grass, wet grass and other stuff out of the way. The diameter of the cleared space should be at least the length of your arm and away from root systems of trees and a few inches deep. If the ground is wet, line the bottom with a floor of dry sticks large enough to hold your tinder bundle. You can make a ring of rocks around the outside if you like, but it is not necessary provided you don't let burning logs roll out of the fire into nearby fuel sources.

Tinder

Tinder should be made of the driest and fluffiest material you can find. A loose ball of it about the size of your fist should be plenty. Fluff from a cattail or a ball of drier lint would work. Lay this on top of the little floor you have in the pit. If the conditions are slightly damp I would cover the ball of fluff with a layer of wood curls and maybe a feather stick or two (these will be covered in greater detail in my next blog on advanced fire building)

Kindling

Kindling should also be dry. You can split this from a log or large branch. Cut some pieces to be about the length of your hand and no bigger than a wooden pencil split in half you'll need about 6 or 7 like this. Lay these on top of your tinder ball in the shape of a teepee or you could even build a 'log cabin' shape. Next you'll need to cut about a dozen or more pieces about twice as thick but just as long. Also gather small twigs, dry leaves and grass etc, to feed to the baby fire as fuel when it needs it.

Fire wood

Split some 2 logs into quarters and eighths. These will form the base of coals for your fire and get it going into a nice crackling fire that will kick out some heat. If you don't have logs to split you can use branches and sticks from half the thickness of your arm to the size of your arm and up. Purchased fire wood should be split in half at least to give you dry wood to put into the fire. Lighting the fire

To light the fire, ensure that your teepee shape is fairly sturdy and light the ball of tinder with a match or lighter. Light it from the side that the wind is blowing so that the wind will carry the heat deeper into the tinder and kindling. As the fire catches the teepee on fire, add the larger pieces of kindling one at a time being careful not to knock down the teepee shape. Don,t be afraid to add the small twigs and dry leaves etc, you want to make sure the fire has plenty of fuel but also plenty of air. Dumping handfuls of leaves onto a very small fire may smother it. If the flame dies but you have a lot of smoke and some red embers, blow into the fire, you will see it flare up, add small fuel if it needs it and it should burst into flame. Remember to force air into the bottom of the fire. The fire wants to suck oxygen in from the bottom and force the heated air upwards. Getting a fire going can take some practice if you have never done it before, but the keys to remember are airflow and fuel. If you have a lot of smoke it needs more air to generate more heat. Once you have the fire lit and the kindling is burning well, add a couple of the eighth split logs to the fire and then build the fire to suit your needs for cooking or heating. Keep the coals in the pit and you'll have a safe and warm fire to enjoy with your family roasting hotdogs or marshmallows or whatever you like.

Up for a challenge? Try lighting a fire without a match or lighter. Try a Ferro-rod fire starter; learn how here Always remember to put the fire out before you leave the camp. Pour water into the coals, stir it up, pour some more and stir some more. A fire is not out until you can put your hand in the pit and you don't feel any warmth or see any smoke or steam.

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