Having a fire in a survival situation is more than important; it can be the difference between life and death. Not only is a fire good for keeping warm and cooking food, but it can scare off wildlife and give you peace of mind and a feeling of companionship.
Knowing the basics of getting a fire going is important. For the first part of this 2-part post, we’ll look at basics principles of fire and in part 2, we’ll go over how to build and maintain a fire.
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Basic Principles of Fire
Before you start holding a match to things to see if they’ll light, it’s a good idea to learn the basics. Think of starting a fire as a triangle with air, heat, and fuel at the points
If you were to take away any of these three points, your fire goes away. This doesn’t mean you need equal parts of each for a fire, as the ratio of each will change on the environment, but their importance is equal. If you’re having an issue starting a fire, your issue is with one of these three items.
Fire Preparation
While a fire will start just about anywhere, you need to consider some major points before just up and building a fire somewhere.
Environment – First, you need to take account of the area you’re building the fire in. This means you need to pay attention to the terrain, the current climate, and items in your general vicinity.
What You Have – This refers to the tools you have on your self along with the materials you either have with you or can find in the area.
Time – How much time do you plan on spending in this location and how much time do you have to build your fire? If you just fell into a frozen lake you probably need fire sooner than later, but if you want to cook dinner, you have a little more time.
Need vs. Security – Why are you building the fire? Is it to simply warm yourself up, cook dinner, or all-around use? With this need, what is your need for security? If you’d rather go unnoticed you should probably adjust your needs to build a smaller fire.
Location – Is the place you want to build the fire protected by wind? This should be a major factor and if you can’t protect your fire from wind from the start, you’ll have to build something that will. You’ll need the fire to be close to your shelter, so if you’re building both you need ample room.
SEE ALSO: Basics of Survival Medicine Part 1
Fire Site Design
With a location picked out, you now need to work on getting the area ready for your fire. Starting a fire is far easier than keeping it from spreading and getting out of control, so make sure you clear brush from the area at least 3 feet around your proposed fire circle. Scrape the surface soil as well, just to make extra sure there’s nothing there that can spread the fire. Remember, this fire will burn as you sleep, so safety is pretty important.
A great way to block wind and reflect heat back to you is to build a fire wall. This can be done with rocks or green wood. Make sure to never use porous or wet rocks, as they can explode when heated.
With your fire wall built and the area prepped, you need to go find the fuel you’re going to use in your fire.
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Materials
The materials for a fire break down into three major categories:
– Tinder
– Kindling
– Fuel
You need all three types of materials to get a fire going, so make sure you have a supply of each ready and waiting. The act of building a fire starts off very slow and tedious but speeds up very quickly and if you’re not prepared you’ll have to start over. Here are some ideas for fire fuel:
Warnings
We already mentioned that you should never build a fire circle or fire wall out of wet or porous rocks, but it’s worth sharing again. If you’re near a river or other water source, finding sandstone rocks is pretty common. These will heat and explode in your fire, so make sure to not use them.
Remember that fire goes up as well as out, so look overhead to see if there are any low-hanging branches, dead wood, or vines that can catch fire.
Remember that this fire will burn while you sleep to keep wild animals away and to keep you warm, so keeping it from spreading will not only protect the environment, but it can keep you alive and your gear safe.