Let's move things along by considering this lesson on fire starting from a true expert, Peter Kummerfeldt, a USAF Academy Survival/SERE Trainer.
A bit lengthy, but quite informative. I suggest, if you agree with his opinions, to cut and paste it into a document for later reference. I can expand on areas he refers to if requested.
Fire Starting ...
Knowing how to build a fire is one of the most important survival skills you can learn. In many cases a well-built fire has meant life itself to those who relied upon it for warmth, light, and its many other uses.
Your fire making and firecraft abilities are a measure of your wilderness survival savvy. Successfully building a fire in adverse conditions when wood is wet or during inclement weather is not always easy. Only with experience and practice can you master the art of fire making to the point of confidence in nearly any situation.
Although there are many types of fuel used for fires, in this Survival Topic we will cover building fires with wood as the primary combustible material available to those who venture into the outdoors. By using the fire building tips presented here, knowing something about what fire really is (it is more than just a flame), and a little practice your fire making skills will quickly improve.
What Causes Fire?
Before you start making fires it will help to know how fire burns. Even many experienced fire builders have never really thought much about what causes fire to exist. Knowing the physics of fire can make anyone a better fire builder. This will give you an edge when building a fire is difficult due to wet conditions or lack of ideal fire making materials.
The Fire Tetrahedron
If you read the Survival Topic on the Fire Tetrahedron you know that making a fire and keeping the flame burning requires four basic components that must be present together at the same time. Take any one of these away and the fire will not start or, if already burning, will not continue. These are:
1. Fuel including wood, gasoline, coal, dried animal dung, alcohol, or other combustible material.
2. Heat, for example that initially provided by a match or rubbing two sticks together.
3. Oxygen from the surrounding air that is consumed during the burning process.
4. Sustained chemical reaction (burning) that produces more heat and keeps the burn cycle going.
Interrupting any of the above four elements will extinguish the fire or keep the fire from starting in the first place.
Four Steps to Fire Building
In general once you have gathered the proper fire making materials, building a fire is a four step process that starts with the smallest sized fuel and works toward the largest. These are the ignition source, tinder, kindling, and fuel:
1. The ignition source can be anything that gives a hot enough flame or spark to ignite the tinder.
* Possible ignition sources include matches, lighters, FireSteel, fire pistons, batteries and steel wool, or even rubbing two sticks together if you have a high level of fire making skill.
* Being able to make a fire is so important that Survival Topics recommends you carry at least 3 different ignition sources in your survival kit. For example: waterproof matches, lighter, and magnesium fire starter. Should one or two methods fail for whatever reason, the third could save the day – and your life.
2. The role of tinder in fire making is to catch the initial spark or flame as you apply it from the ignition source, and then transfer this flame to the kindling. If the kindling is damp or wet, the tinder needs to burn long enough to dry the kindling and catch it on fire.
* The drier the tinder the more easily it catches fire.
* Some examples of tinder include tree bark such as that from paper birch, dead dry plants and grasses, wax, lint, char cloth, wood shavings, paper, pine pitch and dry needles from coniferous trees.
* You can make your own tinder by following the instructions for making fire starters given by the Survival Topics How to Make Fire Sticks and How to Make Petroleum Jelly Fire Starters. These fire starter aids will burn very hot for many minutes, causing even wet kindling to become dry enough to catch on fire.
3. Kindling is added to burning tinder so that it in turn catches fire. The large surface to volume ratio of kindling makes it readily combust (or “kindle”) when in contact with the hot tinder or, if wet, easily dry so that it readily burns. The burning kindling produces a very hot flame that is transferred to the main fuel of large size.
* If kindling is very small and very dry, no tinder may be necessary as it may catch fire very easily from direct contact with the ignition source.
* The best kindling will easily catch fire and burn very hot.
* Some excellent sources of tinder include small dry twigs and wood pieces, and cardboard.
* You can make kindling from larger pieces of wood by cutting them down in size or by making a fuzz stick.
4. Fuel wood is the larger combustible that catches on fire when in contact with the burning kindling.
* Fuel burns more slowly and steadily than the kindling, producing greater heat and a bed of hot glowing coals that continue to radiate heat and light for an extended period of time.
* Once the fire is burning well, simply add more fuel whenever needed to keep the fire going.
* Sources of fuel include dry wood, twisted dry grasses, peat, animal dung, and coal.
* Green or wet fuel is often burnable once a fire is going well. The fires heat will be enough to dry and ignite the wet wood as it dries. Often green wood will burn more slowly and give a greater amount of hot coals, which can be to your advantage when you want a fire to burn for a long time unattended such as when you are sleeping.
Matches and Firesticks
In the photo you can see I have gathered firewood of different sizes that range from large logs (fuel) down to fine branches (kindling). Each size has its place in the building and maintenance of a campfire.
For tinder I have found some strips of birch bark that catch fire very easily and burn very hot (DO NOT strip bark off from living trees. You can nearly always find birch bark laying on the ground, stripped by wind and natural causes). If birch does not grow in your area you can usually find alternative barks, grasses, or even certain types of fungi that make excellent tinder for starting fires. Also shown are commercial firestarter sticks, and a special homemade firestarter you can make yourself in a simple process using recycled cardboard and wax.
Match Tinder Kindling
You should consider including a fire starting aid in your survival kit. For example, the homemade firestarter will burn for nearly ten minutes; enough time to dry even wet kindling enough to catch a flame. Having the ability to make a fire with wet wood could very well safe your life in a cold weather emergency or at the very least ensure you will have a comfortable campfire for the night.
Where to Build a Fire; Making the fire in a good location is very important for efficiency and safety.
Fire Safety
Fire Safety is of prime concern since fire has the habit of escaping the bounds you select for it. The last thing you want to do is start a wildfire, which could threaten your survival and cause considerable damage which you may be liable for.
Log Cabin Fire
Before you build a fire, clear an area of all combustible materials at least four feet all around its location. Consider the possibility of sparks and wind spreading the flames beyond the fireplace and locate your fire so that the chances of this happening are minimized.
To help contain the fire you can build up a ring of rocks around its location or dig a fire pit several inches deep into the ground.
Convenient Fuel Supply for a Fire
Gathering firewood can be a very time consuming and labor intensive process. Try to build a fire where there is plenty of dry fuel that is easily accessible. Fire is a hungry beast; you may find you need 3, 5, or even times as much firewood as you initially thought. If you are planning to spend the night, estimate the amount of fuel you will need – and then triple it.
While traveling, make note of your surroundings with an eye for good places to encamp that have plenty of easily available fuel and water. Areas where there are downed trees and driftwood concentrations are examples of good places to build a fire due to the ease of obtaining dry firewood.
Sheltered From the Elements
High winds can cause a fire to flare up as increased oxygen is forced into it. Wind can also carry sparks from a campfire quite a distance, potentially igniting combustible materials and sparking a wildfire.
You will also need to consider the weather, since heavy rain could extinguish a fire or wet its fuel supply. You may have to build the fire in a sheltered location during inclement weather.
In the pictures you can see that I built my fire in deep snow. To do this I built a raft of logs onto which the fire was initially built. This will allow the fire to become established before it sinks into the snow. A larger fire will have less chance of extinguishing itself as it melts the snow around it.
The Firewood
The wood you choose to start a fire and keep the fire burning is very important. Usually you cannot simply hold a match to a large piece of firewood and expect it to burst into flame. This is especially true of the firewood you are likely to find outdoors, where natural processes tend to keep it damp to a greater or lesser degree.
Species of firewood are generally placed into two main categories; hardwoods and softwoods. Although the characteristics of these two categories overlap somewhat, in general they follow that discussed below.
Burning Softwoods
Softwoods or conifers also known as “evergreens” and have needles as leaves. This type of wood does not shed its needles in the fall, though there are exceptions like tamarack. Softwoods tend to burn quickly and very hot, but burn down to fewer coals. They often contain very flammable resins that are a great aid in starting fires.
Because they burn hot and are often easier to ignite than hardwoods, softwoods are often used for kindling. In some areas of the world, such as areas in the western United States, forests are sometimes mostly of softwood species and so are widely used as a major fuel wood.
Burning Hardwoods
Hardwoods have broad flat leaves and in northern climates shed their leaves in the fall in order to conserve water. Hardwoods typically do not burn as readily as softwoods but once set afire burn steadily and longer, giving a more even heat and more heat in total for a given volume of wood. In addition hardwoods burn down to a good bed of coals that will stay hot for a long period of time.
For these reasons hardwoods are the wood of choice as the main fuel for fires. Species of hardwood vary considerably in the amount of heat given while burning. In eastern forests maple, birch, beech, and oak are excellent firewoods while aspen less so.
Building a Fire
There are a number of methods used to build a fire. The general principle used is
1. Place the tinder (paper, birch bark, cardboard, firestarter, etc) in a pile of kindling. The kindling needs to be loosely spaced so that plenty of oxygen can circulate, yet set close enough so that the individual sticks share heat from the flame in order to combust.
2. Light the tinder so that the flame rises up through the tinder. As the tinder catches fire add the kindling with enough spaces between to allow the easy flow of air and flames.
3. As the fire grows in strength add larger pieces of firewood until the fire is the size you want.
The correct spacing of wood for a campfire is something that comes with experience. You want to allow enough air to circulate through the firewood while at the same time help the pieces of wood share the flame and keep each other ignited.
If the wood is too closely spaced there will not be enough oxygen to burn; too far apart and the heat generated by burning pieces will not be enough to ignite adjacent pieces. In a typical campfire spacing the pieces of wood one-quarter to one inch is about right though that will vary according to type of wood and size of the blaze. Only experimentation and experience will determine the optimum spacing of the firewood.
Types of Fire Making
There are a number of methods used for placing wood while making and feeding a fire. These are designed to take the fullest advantage of how fire burns, especially by increasing the amount of oxygen that reaches the flames.
Log Cabin Method
I find the easiest and one of the best ways to make a fire is to simply lay the sticks on top of one another in a log cabin fashion once the kindling is burning well.
In the photos you can see how I layered the firewood on top of the already burning kindling. I lined up a half dozen pieces in one direction over which I placed another row aligned perpendicularly to the last.
Adding firewood to the fire in this way creates plenty of space between the sticks for the circulation of oxygen. This causes the fire to burn hotter. In addition, as the pile grows a chimney effect is created so that air is sucked in through the bottom of the pile and exits through the top as a strong flame.
The Tepee Fire
Another method of building a fire structure is the tepee. Build a tepee structure with the tinder and kindling inside. This creates a chimney structure that when lit will suck air from the bottom and draw it up through the top. As the wood burns it will fall inward and feed the fire.
The X-Ditch Fire
Dig an X-shaped trench into the soil a few inches deep. Build your fire at the intersection of the “X”. Air will freely flow through the ditch and up into the fire, causing it to burn hotter and faster.
Dakota Fire Hole
If you need to conceal a fire you can make a Dakota Fire Hole. This method of making a fire will help limit the amount of smoke the fire makes and hide its bright flames underground.
To make a Dakota Fire Hole dig a trench a few feet deep at the base of a small hill. Cover the top of the trench with a layer of earth and dig down on one end so that there is a chimney formed. Build your file inside the trench by shoving fuelwood into the opening.
Dealing with Large Firewood
For long lasting fires you will need to burn large firewood pieces. These will burn slowly and give sustained heat, light, and hot coals for roasting and cooking.
Rather than expend the time and effort required to cut large logs into length, it is often easier to simply place them in the fire and allow the fire to burn through them.
How Big Should a Fire Be?
Many people make the mistake of making a very large fire when a smaller blaze will do. Besides the potential dangers in making large fires, the gathering of firewood takes time and energy, both of which should be conserved during a survival situation. Even if your fire is only recreational, there is no good reason to waste resources by burning inordinate amounts of wood.
Practice Building Fires
The ability to make a fire, even in wet adverse conditions, can only be learned through practice. Building fires in a backyard fireplace, wood stove, or campsite gives you valuable experience that will prove useful during an emergency survival situation.
