Fire Lighting Skills

Components of a Fire Fire is a chemical reaction which needs three things to be present so it can happen:   OXYGEN + HEAT + FUEL = FIRE If one of these is not present, the fire cannot start. If one of these is taken from a fire it will go out. But how does this all work? Here comes the science bit - concentrate

Oxygen We all breathe Oxygen (O²) everyday - in fact, without it we would suffocate. But did you know that fire breathes Oxygen too? And, like us, without Oxygen a fire will also suffocate. When Oxygen in the air combines with flammable vapours given off by Fuels they create a form of heat at a molecular level. Then, a source of ignition (a match or spark, say) can cause it to combust. Without enough Oxygen, ignition cannot happen. In the opposite way, if there is too much Oxygen then the vapours won't be concentrated enough to ignite. The ratio of vapour to Oxygen is known as the 'explosive' or 'flammable' limit and is different for each gas or vapour.

Heat Combustion occurs when flammable vapours mix with air (Oxygen) and are ignited by a spark or flame. Solids give off flammable vapours by being heated. Certain solids such as paper or flour appear to ignite almost instantly. This is because they give off vapours and reach a flammable temperature almost immediately. In fact, fine dusts dispersed in the air can explode because they give off vapours and ignite so quickly it appear to happen instantly. Other solids like timber take longer to ignite because they are denser and so don't give off flammable vapours so easily. Liquids are a bit different to solids. They are a lot more runny for a start! But, where solids need to be heated to give off flammable vapours, some liquids give off vapours even in cold weather. The name for the temperature at which vapour from a liquid can be ignited is known as its 'flashpoint'. The flashpoint of petrol is 43°C below zero. Meaning that even on the coldest day you can possibly think of, petrol can still ignite very easily

Fuel So, in our fire triangle we've got Oxygen and Heat, but we also need something that will burn - this is our Fuel. Fuels can take almost any form: Solids like wood, fabric, rubber and plastic. Liquids such as petrol, oil, cooking oil or even nail varnish remover. Gases like propane, butane and 'natural' gas. Different fuels burn at different rates and with different intensities. Some types of fuel, under certain conditions, can burn at over 1000°C! That's hot enough to melt Aluminium! By contrast, the temperature of the surface of the Sun reaches around 6000°C!

Preparation is Key Preparation is a vital aspect of successful fire-lighting. Success is largely determined by what you do before you strike a match. Put all the building blocks of success in place first. For your kindling, collect small, thin sticks that are dead and dry. The best are either still attached to a tree or hung up in one. Avoid collecting sticks from the ground. You are looking for matchstick thickness sticks. They should break cleanly with a crisp and definite ‘click’. The best small sticks for kindling are from woods that contain resin or oil that is flammable. In the northern temperate zone and in the arctic forests the best kindling comes from coniferous trees species such as pine, spruce, fir but not larch. From the deciduous trees the birches provide the best kindling. A further advantage to the evergreen species mentioned above is that they often have dead branches low down on their trunk. There is so little light reaching these branches that the tree doesn’t waste its energy in maintaining them. This provides a ready supply of dry kindling that is also protected from rain and snow by the branches above. You can easily collect plenty of small dry sticks in a short amount of time.

Search for dead, dry sticks for your kindling Search for dead, dry sticks for your kindling. You often find dead branches low down on evergreen conifers

Left: Breaking off dead branches for kindling Left: Breaking off dead branches for kindling. Right: To ensure success, particularly in wet weather, collect at least an armful of kindling like this..

Break off the small matchstick-thin twigs from the branches you have collected. Create a bundle like this. Keep the twigs long..

The best twigs from a deciduous tree are from Birch The best twigs from a deciduous tree are from Birch . Collect a bundle of the thinnest dead, dry twigs you can find.:

After your initial kindling, you need some slightly larger fuel After your initial kindling, you need some slightly larger fuel. Pencil-thickness is good for the next stage, then finger thickness, then thumb thickness. The idea is for each grade of fuel to easily ignite from the previous. You can’t light a log from a match. There needs to be some intermediate sizes of fuel. All of your fuel should be dead and dry. Make sure you collect and sort out your fuel before you begin to light your fire. Select an area for your campfire. Check there are no obvious tree roots you might ignite. Also check above that there are no low-hanging branches you might ignite by accident. Even if this is not a risk, as a general rule it is best not to damage tree foliage by creating a fire too close under their branches. Obviously if you were in an emergency situation and you needed to use some trees for natural shelter and have a fire nearby to keep you warm, then this is a different situation. Even in an emergency situation, however, you don’t want to be starting a forest fire around you. In the area where you will have your campfire, clear the leaf litter and other dead foliage away until the bare earth is exposed. If the ground is peat, you should not light a fire there. You must find a rocky area (such as next to a stream) to light your fire. In very dry coniferous woods this is good practice too, as it is easy to set fire to root systems. Generally it is good to have your fire within easy walking distance of a water source. This will provide you with all the drinking water you need plus you will have water to extinguish all remnants of your fire before you leave.

You should create a hearth of dead, dry sticks of around thumb thickness. On top of this you will create your fire-lay. Creating a hearth has several advantages: A hearth prevents your kindling from sitting directly on damp and/or cold ground; A hearth (of dead, dry sticks), provides a ready source of fuel at the centre of your fire; The gaps in the hearth allow air (in particular, oxygen) to be drawn into the base of the fire.

Clear an area for your campfire and lay down a hearth of dry, dead wood

You should now be on the lookout for good dry tinder, dried grasses, dead bracken, birch bark are some good natural tinder’s to name a few. I often collect these hours before I get to this stage stashing it in my pocket to dry ready for use.

I have all of this ready and laid out to hand before I even think of igniting my tinder. This is the preparation stage, I see so many people collect a nice tinder bundle light it and then start running around the woods looking for thin dead sticks or even worse snapping green wood off of trees. When you are happy you have enough kindling and have divided it into nice gauged bundles it’s time to light your tinder.

In the picture I have used some dead grasses, bracken and a feathered piece of pine. Once the tinder bundle is lit place your handful of matchstick thin kindling on top of the flames, wait for that to catch and repeat the process until you’re up to your small logs.

As the flames take hold of the smaller sticks, add slightly larger fuel to your fire

Your fire is now well established Your fire is now well established. If you need a larger fire then continue building with progressively larger fuel. But to boil a can of water for example, you don't need to use fuel any bigger than finger thickness.

And that’s it, your fire is established and you can now build it up further if necessary or use it to boil some water for a lunchtime brew. The initial principles are the same in either case. Remember the critical importance of preparation and material selection. Choose and prepare your site well. Look after your tinder and keep it dry. Take into consideration the weather conditions – wind, rain/snow. Then you won’t go far wrong. And if you are thinking that all of this seems like a bit of a faff, it actually doesn’t take long to do it. Plus doing things properly the first time normally takes less time in the long run.