August 4, 2020

 BASIC FIRE BUILDING
    Man has came up with many modern methods of accomplishing many of the tasks formerly handled by an open flame and the coals it produces. In most modern heating and cooking there is rarely a flame even viewed, indeed if a flame is even used. Yet, no matter how modern man becomes he is still drawn to the comfort of an open fire, whether it be in our fire places in our homes or a camp fire. Perhaps, it is some primal link. Some things that were so important in our past generations still draw us, connect us, knit us like inseparable threads in a master tapestry to the human family. Fire is one of those threads that weaves its way through us all.
    Fire provides warmth, comfort and instills a certain presence like a close friend. Fire can cook our food, purify our water and assist us in making tools. Fire provides light and protection from wild animals. Fire can save our lives. How important it is to know how to properly build a fire, yet how very few actually know the basics of fire building. Many think they know. But there is much more to fire building than striking a match to some pile of combustible material!
    Most fires that are ‘built’ either go out or burn out of control or do not perform the task they were built for because they are not well thought out and planned. Proper planning includes: 1) Selecting and preparing a proper site for the fire to be built. 2) Selection and gathering of combustible materials in ample supply and easy to get to. 3) Choosing the proper fire for the task. 4) Knowing how to start a fire. And...5) Knowing how to extinguish the fire properly.
 
Selecting and Preparing a Site for the Fire To Be Built:
    The camp fire is usually the centerpiece of the camp. You will be sitting around it, cooking on it and it will be helping to keep you warm all through the night. Keeping that in mind you want it to be accessible to perform all the tasks that will be demanded of it. Once you have an idea how to centrally locate the fire according to the size camp you will be setting up you will need to clear the site properly. Remove all debris and combustible material so it may be built on dirt or rock, if possible. It is a good idea to clear an area at least four feet around the area you will build your fire. If your campsite is in the snow you will need to lay down a base of rock or logs to build the fire on. Not only is what is underneath the chosen fire site important, what is above it is also important. Look up and make sure you can see the sky above where your fire is being built. Fire built beneath trees can catch the trees on fire, damage living leaves and in the case of snow covered trees, be a hazard as the snow melts and loosens and falls down on your fire and possibly you. Exceptions to seeing the sky above your fire would be only in cases where you are building a fire in the eave of a cave or other shelter. In these cases, you still want to be aware of what is above your fire and adjust the size of your fire accordingly and provide a proper chimney for the smoke to escape. You will also want to provide a safety buffer around the fire. Depending on the type of fire you are building, this can be a pit or a ring (or other arrangement) of stones or green logs. It is also a good idea to stick green branches in the ground around the fire for spark arrestors.
 
Selection and Gathering of Combustible Materials
    Proper selection of materials to burn is important. When choosing sticks to burn, choose sticks that snap, not bend. If they bend they are green. You can burn these once a fire is burning well, but initially you want dry, dead wood to burn. Wood that crumbles is rotten. It is usually not worth gathering unless used as described previously. There are three essential sizes of combustible material needed to start a fire and maintain it. They are: 1) Tinder. This is any material that ignites easily, such as Cedar bark, grasses, nests, wood chips, paper, etc. 2) Kindling. These are small sticks, finger-sized and smaller. 3) Fuel. This is the larger logs that once burning form coals as they burn down. 
    Tinder should be dry, fine material that will ignite readily when lit or an ember and tinder are blown on. It is very important that tinder materials are carefully chosen and properly prepared, as described in previous chapters, then it may be formed into a loose ball and small twigs built around it in the arrangement of the fire you have chosen.
It is also wise to already have kindling (finger-sized and smaller) and fuel (larger logs) ready and waiting to add to the fire as it is able to burn these materials. 
    Have an ample supply of tinder, kindling and fuel on hand. Even after the fuel is burning you may have to speed up the burning down of coals or help new added fuel to begin burning by adding more kindling. The fire may even die down and burn out for one reason or another, so have extra tinder on hand. Having a good supply of fuel on hand assures that you have plenty of material handy to keep plenty of coals coming to finish cooking or whatever the task. Separate them into different piles and store them in a dry place, covered and out of the weather. Tinder is particularly affected by moisture.
 

 
Choosing the Proper Fire for the Task
    Most think a fire is a fire... is a fire... is a fire. But there are different fires for different tasks. One should never build a fire any bigger than is needed for the task in mind.
Here are a few different types of fires:

Teepee Fire: The Teepee fire is probably the most well known and used fire and can be used in conjunction with any of the arrangements below. Tinder is first laid down and smaller twigs and kindling are built up around this leaning against each other in the shape of a teepee. The tinder is then lit and as the kindling begins to burn well, more kindling and gradually fuel is added in the same manner.
  
Hunter’s Fire: A good small fire for the trail is the Hunter’s fire. It is simple, provides hot coals for cooking, heat and light. After building a small fire on the ground and allowing it to die down to coals place two green logs in V-shape along both sides of the fire with the wider opening of the ‘V’ facing where the wind is blowing into it. This allows good air circulation and supports a pot on the smaller end of the ‘V’. If more air is needed smaller branches may be placed beneath the larger logs allowing air through the sides. This helps you regulate the heat of the coals. You may also line up rocks instead of using green logs, if you wish, and if they are available.

  
A-Frame Fire:  The A-frame fire is another small, simple trail fire, good for cooking on. It is made up of three small logs laid in the shape of an ‘A’ with the open end toward the wind.     Tinder is laid at the cross piece and lit. Kindling is then added and the cross piece provides a place to lean the kindling against while providing good air circulation and a safety buffer is formed by the other two logs.
 Keyhole Fire: The Keyhole fire is another fire that can be constructed small like the Hunter’s fire and performs the same tasks as the Hunter’s fire. Small, flat rocks are arranged in a keyhole shape, thereby allowing one to keep a fire burning producing coals in the circular area while allowing a smaller area to move coals to and in a close enough knit arrangement to support a pot. In larger camps you may even wish to arrange two circular areas, one at each end, to produce more coals faster, assuring an ample supply of coals, while providing light and warmth.
 
Reflector Fire: A reflector used with a fire allows you to project the heat from flames to a selected spot, more or less. Fire is omnidirectional with most heat travelling upward. A reflector is good for providing warmth to an open shelter.  Most cooking is done on coals, however, a reflector allows you to reflect the heat of flames for cooking meat dangling from a tripod or stick or for baking bread and such. One should never cook directly on or in an open flame. Flames are hotter than coals and more difficult to regulate.
     A reflector can be as simple as logs stacked up and staked on both sides, by a fire or a three-sided reflector can be constructed, thus utilizing even more heat. In a long term camp, mud may even be placed between logs to seal all cracks, but is usually not necessary, provided all knots are removed and logs used are fairly straight.

Indian Fire: The Indian fire is a good way to keep you from having to cut up a lot of logs. It also helps preserve fuel when there is not much to be had. Just lay four or five logs down, touching in their centers and radiating outward from the center. Build your tinder and kindling up at the midpoint. As the logs burn, just gradually push them in toward the middle. This works well on long logs that you don’t wish to cut or have no means of cutting. In a survival situation you do not want to expend a lot of energy chopping wood. So, why chop wood when it can just burn. Logs can be placed across any fire to burn in half, if your fire is going well enough, rather than chopping them in half. However, split wood does burn easier.
 
 Indian Fireplace:
    To build the Indian fireplace dig a hole a bit larger than the pot you will be cooking with and build a small fire at the bottom of the hole. Make sure there is adequate air circulation. As the fire burns down to coals a pot may be set right on the hole or a dingle stick supported by a forked stick may be used to hold the pot over the fire. This fire is particularly good in high winds. If White Oak is used there is very little to no smoke produced by the coals and small chips of bark may be added to produce a glowing fire that makes it very good for warming a small shelter. In fact, the famous explorer, Jedediah Smith, wrote in his journal of building such a fire. He dug a pit near a tree and covered himself and the hole with a blanket as he sat leaned against a tree with the pit situated between his legs. He woke up the next morning with the blanket covered with a layer of snow and was still completely warm. Not only did this fire keep him warm, he also chose it because he did not want to build a fire that gave off a lot of smoke that would inform hostile Indians of his location.
 Beanhole Fire:  Another variation of the Indian Fireplace is the Beanhole fire. A hole is dug and a fire is burned down to coals and a pot is placed in the hole. Kindling is then added all around the pot and allowed to burn down and more kindling is added as needed. Or, coals may be built up around and on top of a pot with a lid on it and then buried, completely covered, pot, coals and all with dirt. This sort of acts like a crock pot and can be left alone for six to eight hours and uncovered later for a hot meal that doesn’t require constant watching.
Trench Fire: Similar to the Indian Fireplace is the Trench fire. Not only is this fire practical in prevailing wind, it can be dug just wide enough for your pots to be supported by the sides of the trench. Just dig a trench parallel to the direction of the prevailing wind, insuring that there is adequate air circulation because of the open upwind end. If the trench is dug wider than your pots green sticks may be used to support them. The trench fire is also used in front of a lean-to. It is dug the length of the person sleeping by it. See chapter on shelter.
 Criss-Cross Fire: Also called an altar fire or council fire. This is a good, long burning, low maintenance fire which makes it very practical for ceremonies and such because it doesn’t need to be constantly tended. It is also practical for camp use. It also makes a good, long lasting bed of coals. To build this fire place your larger logs down first alternating them and laying them two on top of two, log cabin style. Lay smaller logs across and in between the larger logs. Keep layering in this manner with each layer using smaller and smaller logs, down to kindling size, to a height of about two feet. Leave space between the logs as you lay them down on each layer. You may even wish to place some small twigs in the space beneath each layer. On top of this build a Teepee fire or two with your tinder in the middle of the teepee. When the tinder is lit and the teepee fire begins to burn, the hot coals will drop down and cause the lower layers to burn, therefore burning from the top down. A variation on this is the Log Cabin Fire or Chimney Fire where the interior is left open and logs are only stacked around outside perimeter. The log cabin fire is great for getting a fire to burn fast and hot. It is also useful when some of your fuel is a little wet.
 
Starting a Fire and Keeping It Going
    If you have properly planned and laid out your fire and have an adequate supply of tinder, kindling and fuel nearby and a means of extinguishing it, then you are ready to light your fire. You should be able to light a fire with one match. If it takes more than one match for you to light a fire then you have not done something properly. A properly laid out fire will continue to burn until you put it out after one lighting. This is a valuable skill to know, as basic as it may sound. In a survival situation you may only have one match left or need to conserve those you have or only a small amount of dry tinder.
    Things to consider when properly laying out a fire are dry, well selected materials and adequate air circulation. Think about wind direction. Use it to your advantage. Too much can cause a fire to burn out of control or burn up your wood too quickly. If wood is at a premium this becomes even more important. You can use a pit or trench if there is too much wind. When lighting that first light make sure your match is shielded adequately from blowing out. And for safety sake stay on the upwind side of a fire.
    Wet conditions can be overcome if one will only, once again, think, plan and lay out their fire properly before lighting it. Dry, dead, lower branches still connected to trees can usually be found. Dry tinder, such as pine needles can usually be found close to the trunks of pine trees on the ground. Mouse nests found are usually dry and make very good tinder. Wet branches can often be whittled down to a dry center.  Birch bark, pitch saturated evergreen, White Ash and Hickory catch up easily even when moist. Lighting a candle may keep you from striking so many matches and will stay burning, if shielded from the wind a lot longer than a match. In fact, a struggling flame or wet conditions can often be overcome by building your tinder around a burning candle and even shaving off bits of paraffin into the tinder before lighting. Don’t use highly combustible, dangerous fuels like gasoline on a fire please. If you have some lantern fuel rather than attempt to saturate your wood with it put a little in a small can like a half of a soda pop can and light it. Then build your fire around it. This is a much more efficient and safer use of lantern fuel.
    You can also make some bottle cap candles ahead of time that take up very little space in a pack. Saturate some cotton string in some paraffin as you melt it in a double boiler on your stove top. Remove the string and cut it into short lengths and curl up in each bottle cap. Then, pour melted paraffin into each bottle cap enough to fill each one, leaving some of the wick exposed and let cool. A variation on this is to use larger lids and cut up strips of corrugated cardboard the same width as the height of the lid you are using. Saturate these in the paraffin and roll them up in the lid and pour more paraffin over this to the depth of the lid, also inserting and leaving a wick exposed.
A fuzz stick is another item to help a fire get started and keep going. It is a short, sharpened stick that is whittled in such a way that the shavings are not completely detached, but curl up all over and looks rather like a small Christmas tree.
    If it is raining you will need to shield your fire from the rain. A natural overhang is ideal. If none are available, improvise with a flat rock, a slab of bark, a log propped up at an angle, a poncho, tarp or a tent awning. If the ground is rain soaked or covered with snow construct a foundation for the fire using slabs of bark, rocks, or logs. I have built a fire, using only one match in a pit filled with water by laying down a proper foundation to elevate my fire up and out of the water and then carefully laying out my fire materials.
    It is a good idea to have an emergency supply of dry tinder sealed up in some type of waterproof container. A section of Bamboo or River Cane with a tight fitting plug and sealed with wax works very well as discussed earlier. You may also want to seal up some dry matches in this container or if you are carrying flint and steel you may want to include some dry, charred cloth. Matches may be made waterproof by dipping a bundle into melted paraffin and allowed to cool. A 35 mm film cannister with a circle of sandpaper attached to the lid makes a very good waterproof match container. Generally though I don’t use matches in the woods. They get wet easy. They deteriorate quickly. I depend more on magnesium firestarter type devices.
    Once a fire is burning you may add some wet wood a little at a time and it will gradually dry out and catch up. It is a good idea to lay wet wood near the fire also, so the heat from the fire can begin to dry it out. Blowing at the base of a struggling fire helps.
 
Properly Extinguishing a Fire
    It is also important to know how to properly extinguish a fire. Thousands of acres of recreational land are lost each year because some careless camper didn’t take time or didn’t know how to properly extinguish a fire. Most fires need not ever get out of control if properly planned ahead of time, with safety in mind. It is a good idea to have a bucket of water and a bucket of sand nearby at all times when using a fire, just in case you need it. Prevention is, after all, better than a cure. Of course, in a survival situation this may not be possible. Just be safe and do the best you can.
    Hot coals can burn for hours, even underground and can later flame up when exposed to the air and some combustible material. Forest fire fighters often have to fight burning roots underground as well as the flame on top of the ground. Temperatures from a forest fire out of control alone often cause roots to burn and ignite later after the above ground fire is put out.
    Remember the three S’s when putting out a fire: Sprinkle, Scatter, Sprinkle. To properly extinguish a fire, douse it with several bucketfuls of water. Then stir the coals and drench it again till all sparks and steam are gone. It is then a good idea to cover this with a healthy mound of wet, mineral soil, as a guarantee that the fire is completely and safely extinguished. Fill in all fire pits and trenches. Then mark where your fire was with an ‘X’ made from sticks. Leave the area looking as undisturbed as when you came.
    If you do have to fight a fire, do something about it before it gets too large. Use sand or dirt to smother flames. Soak brooms, brush, burlap bags or some heavy material in water to beat out the flames. Dig a trench around a fire to keep it from going farther. Work with the wind in your face, not at your back. Beat toward the wind. Beating with the wind tends to help fan the flames or causes sparks or flames to jump ahead into an unburned area. Beware though of the heat on you. Don’t chance your clothes catching on fire. If they do, drop and roll or have someone smother flames with a blanket. If the fire is too large to fight this way, you need the help of experienced fire fighters.  Larger fires require experienced fire fighters and specialized tools. Send someone to notify fire wardens by telephone, unless you are sure you can handle it.
    Fire is our servant and our friend. Learn how to properly build and extinguish a fire and enjoy the outdoors.

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