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How To Build A Fire

Building a fire from scratch is a skill most people don’t know how to do, but it is one that could save your life should you find yourself lost in the woods, in the middle of a natural disaster or without power in the middle of winter. Not only will a fire keep you warm but it can also purify your water and cook your food.

Here are a few tips on building a fire as well as a list of items you’ll need:

Fuego

What You Will Need

There are a few different approaches you can take when it comes to building a fire, whichever one you decide to go with, here is what you will need…

  1. Tinder- This is the launching pad for every fire. Tinder is made up of dry sticks, paper, dead grass etc… You should be able to find enought of this lying around any forest floor. You should not need a lot.
  2. Kindling- Once you get your tinder lit you’ll transfer it to your kindling which is just sticks that are bigger than whatever your tinder is. Once your kindling is lit you’ll want to place it under your logs as a coal bed.
  3. Logs/Wood- Obviously logs are large pieces of wood. Make sure they’re dry and you have enough to keep your fire going as long as you’ll need it.
  4. Fire Starter- If you’re prepared then you should have matches or a lighter to start your fire, but should you find yourself in an emergency situation or if you’re resources have been taken from you then you’ll need to find or make a new fire starter. An example of a homemade fire starter can be found here at Ask.com.

Wood

Tip: Be aware of your surroundings when making a fire and always make sure you have a way to put it out quick. Forest fires can happen quickly.

How to Build

Once you have all your resources you will need to build a fire pit. Essentially you just need to dig a small hole that you will set your logs in and surround that with rocks so as to contain the fire.

Now that you have your pit, set your tinder in the middle and your kindling on top of that in a teepee like structure. It is important to have a teepee structure so that oxygen can find its way in to help fuel the fire. At this point you are ready to light the fire with your fire starter. As soon as your tinder and kindling are burning you can begin adding logs to your fire as to grow it and create more heat.

Fire

In a nutshell, that is ow you can create a fire. It isn’t that difficult and all the items you need can be found in the outdoors. Go outside and practice this skill over and over again so that you can get the skill down. Knowing how to build a fire is a skill that could end up saving your life.

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By Henry H. Hernandez

Henry Hernandez is an Army veteran and father of two. Henry works for a company that makes underground steel bunkers and storm shelters www.risingsbunkers.com. Henry can be found on Google+.

 

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