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The key to fire is in the preparation of these elements ok for as long as the earth spins you shouldn’t need to worry about oxygen so the things you need to consider before starting your fire are the other two; fuel and heat. The heat is about the fire starting which we will cover another topic leaving us with fuel; and that brings us back to the purpose of the fire as different fuels will have different advantages and fuel can be anything from something out of a tank, various woods or a whole bunch of other combustibles. Seeing as what I do is more about life in the wilderness from here on we will be concentrating on the various woods. There are a few songs and rhymes that speak of the virtues and pitfalls of burning various woods, but ultimately it’s about what is available to you.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to be prepared before you start your fire. Before even the faintest wisp of smoke there is work to be done namely: selecting a fire site making the fire 'pit' Gathering fire wood filling the kettle ;)
Selecting the site. A Topic in itself that warrants pages of writing all dependent on your fires purpose e.g. a signal fire will need to be out in the open for all to see whereas a fire for cooking and general camp use would be better in a more sheltered spot. Always remember that it needs to be safe. A controlled fire is a blessing but even the smallest of fires can create havoc if they are misplaced or unattended. The site needs to be clear of any flammable materials so brush aside any dry leaf litter and check for any spillages or nearby hazards. Ensure you will have access to all sides of the fire and don’t site it near to live trees and vegetation. Also consider where people will be once the fire is lit is there space to sit around it? Are there nearby shelters or resources that it will be obstructing.
Taking all that into account you need to then look for any potential waterways or water collecting points and the wind which will either carry the smoke away from camp or blow it all into the your face.
The fire 'pit' This can be as little as the bare ground exposed by brushing aside debris, a long trench or a 30cm deep hole allowing the fire to be sheltered from the wind, again depending on your intentions of use. Just be sure to remove any rocks, they have a habit of blowing up like hand grenades, and check in the ground for tree roots as fires over larger roots can kill a tree or ignite smaller ones that act like slow burning fuses.
Fire wood This is the key to starting a fire at the first attempt, too many times have I watched someone create their first fire by friction only to realise that they had nothing to transfer the red hot coal too. And is also my saving grace when I bet rookies that I can have a brewed tea ready to dunk biscuits in before they can; when I use a bow drill to start a fire and they use a match, the trick is to gather all the wood before you start. From the thin match like kindling through to the thick firewood needed for a steady burn.
As a rule you can separate the wood into 4 piles sorted by thickness match, pencil, thumb and wrist with sufficient supplies and a fire pit prepared your ready to start your fire. You can think of starting a fire in the same way that you drive a car from ignition right through to top gear. You wouldn't start a car in 6th gear in the same way that you wouldn't put a match to a log and expect it to burst into flame.
So once we have our ignition whether that be from friction fire, steel, Ferro rod, match or lighter we need to nurture that small flame into kettle boiling goodness so starting with our smallest and driest kindling we work our way up through the sizes of wood giving each stage a chance to ignite. Being careful to place individual pieces onto the fire.
A camp fire should never need to be bigger than 50-60 cm wide, any bigger than that and it starts to become fuel hungry and a lot less efficient, if you need more room to cook or more heat a far better option would be to start another fire elsewhere in the camp.
Written by: Dave Roderick.
