Camping With Cole

How To Build A Fire

Fire: it is a living breathing entity with the ability to help or destroy everything it touches. Just like any living thing fire requires three things to sustain it;air to breathe,food (fuel) to consume, and a spark of life (ignition). I think we'd all agree that there are many ways to light a fire. This article will explore the plethora of ways to get your pyro on.

Let's Start With Air!

We breathe air every day. It's all around us. Without it we will die. The same goes for fire. Without air to breathe a fire will die. As air is all around us, we need to ensure that when we set up an area to have a fire, we are not too close to other items that may catch and burn unintentionally.

And when we leave the camping area, we do our absolute best to ensure that not only is our fire out, but that it is buried so that it cannot breathe and cannot come back to life. We should also ensure that we leave no trace.

Almost everything on earth can burn, so fuel for a fire is readily available at all times. In order to start a fire for our use, we need to find appropriate materials.

Time To Look At Fuel

You should never put gas or other chemical combustibles on materials to start a fire. This is not only lazy, but very foolish. I always carry a small notebook in a zip-lock bag. This is for hiking notes.

However, there have been times when a few precious pages were sacrificed to provide some dry fuel to help start a fire. A wick if you will.If you get some dry kindling, pinecones, and twigs together between some bigger pieces of wood you can start a fine fire quickly.

Here are some suggestions for fuel: Gather your fire-building materials together and set them by the area you intend to build the fire. In a dry container or bag,carry 1 or 2, 8" pieces of ½" hemp rope. You can unravel one rope and make a "bird's nest" which you can place smaller twigs on. This rope-nest will light easily and start your fire quickly with one match, then add larger and larger pieces of wood as you go.

But what if it's raining? Where do we find dry wood? Easy-Peezy! Use your hatchet or a large sharp rock to split a piece of wood into 4's. It's very likely dry in the middle and will provide dry kindling and will catch fire well. Once you have the fire going, almost anything will burn. So now we need to produce -

That Spark Of Life - Ignition!

• LIGHTER Sareeasy to use but can run out of fuel when most needed. Also, in today's world many people don't carry them much anymore. These are great for a stop-and-drop camp- out.

• 9 VOLT BATTERY touched to some fine steel wool produces a sparkling show and when breathed on can help to start a fire when touched to many other materials. This is another great short-term starter, but batteries can discharge or short out leaving them dead and unusable. But it is fun to try this on occasion.

• MATCHES There are "book" matches and strike-anywhere matches that, unless well protected, over time can become unusable. The same can be said for so called "water-proof' matches which in many cases are anything but waterproof. However, there are some "stormproof" matches that I have seen and purchased at REI that I have personally lit, placed that match in water three times for a three count each time and they relit each time. They are a bit pricey, but they are very reliable and worth carrying. And naturally we all should practice being able to light a fire using only one match, as at times that may be all you have.

• STRIKERS AND KNIVES to me are mandatory items to carry. The knife goes without saying, but a striker can last a very long time, and some even seem to become more functional over time. A knife and a rock will at times suffice to produce a spark, however a striker is infinitely better.

• BOW AND DRILL We've all seen the movies and how a fire gets started immediately using this method. The reality is this is dependent on some serious know-how and using the correct materials to build your bow and drill. This one takes practice and a lot of work to get things going and is not really a great option for a survival situation unless you know what you're doing.

In conclusion, always remember to dig a bit of a pit and surround your fire area with rocks in order to help prevent fire-jumping.

I recommend that you carry that 8" x ½" hemp rope and a notebook in a dry bag just in case and at least three means of sparking/starting a fire as the items are usually light weight and provide excellent backup to each other. And then all you and the fire have to do is BREATHE!