Fire Making
"Wood warms you three times, once as you collect it,
once when you chop it and once when you burn it"
Apple Splendid/ It bums slowly and steadily when dry, with little flame, but good heat. The scent is pleasing.
Ash Best burning wood; has both flame and heat, and will bum when green, though naturally not as well as when dry.
Beech A rival to ash, though not a close one, and only fair when green. If it has a fault, it is apt to shoot embers a long way.
Birch The heat is good but it burns quickly. The smell is pleasant.
Cedar Good when dry. Full of crackle and snap. It gives little flame but much heat, and the scent is beautiful.
Cherry Burns slowly, with good heat. Another wood with the advantage of scent
Chestnut Mediocre. Apt to shoot embers. Small flame and heating power.
Douglas Fir Poor. Little flame or heat.
Elder Mediocre. Very smoky. Quick burner, with not much heat.
Elm Commonly offered for sale. To bum well it needs to be kept for two years. Even then it will smoke. Vary variable fuel.
Hazel Good.
Holly Good, will burn when green, but best when kept a season.
Hornbeam Almost as good as beech.
Laburnum Totally poisonous tree, acrid smoke, taints food and best never used.
Larch Crackly, scented, and fairly good for heat.
Laurel Has brilliant flame.
Lime Poor. Burns with dull flame.
Maple Good.
Oak The novelist's 'blazing fire of oaken logs' is fanciful, Oak is sparse in flame and the smoke is acrid, but dry old oak is excellent for heat, burning slowly and steadily until whole log collapses into cigar-like ash.
Pear A good heat and a good scent.
Pine Bums with a splendid flame, but apt to spit. The resinous Weymouth pine has a lovely scent and a cheerful blue flame.
Plane Burns pleasantly, but is apt to throw sparks if very dry.
Plum Good heat and aromatic.
Poplar Truly awful.
Rhododendron The thick old stems, being very tough, burn well.
Robinia (Acacia) Burns slowly, with good heat, but with acrid smoke.
Spruce Burns too quickly and with too many sparks.
Sycamore Burns with a good flame, with moderate heat. Useless green.
Thorn Quite one of the best woods. Burns slowly, with great heat and little smoke.
Walnut Good, and so is the scent. Aromatic wood.
Willow Poor. It must be dry to use, and then it burns slowly, with little flame. Apt to spark.
Yew Last but among the best. Burns slowly, with fierce heat, and the scent is pleasant.
Equipment
Punk or tinder - Dead leaves, paper, cotton wool, birch bark, wood chippings, very small thin and very dry twigs. General rule these should be thickness of a pencil lead or thinner.
Kindling - Thin twigs and sticks of different sizes. General rule if you can break these by hand they're kindling.
Fuel Wood - Larger branches and logs. Can be damp as they will dry out when placed around the fire. General rule these will need to be cut by saw or axe.
Logs or stones - Optional to contain the fire.
Matches - Kept in a plastic bag or waxed in case of wet weather
Knife or spade - If turf needs lifting
Bucket of water, sand or fine soil - To douse fire when finished
Preparation is Key:
Collect plenty of wood of different sizes. You will need kindling to get the fire started. This material will not burn for long and you must use the heat from this to make the larger wood catch fire; thin twigs first and in turn, larger twigs and sticks to help light small logs. All should be collected before starting the fire or you'll be running about trying to keep the fire going.
Many camp sites have designated fire pits or areas for camp fires - otherwise, you need to find a very flat and spacious area away from overhanging trees. Of course, you also need to ask the relevant authority for permission to light the fire.
Never light a fire on grass. Instead, lift the turf from an area or build your fire on a crate. If you are preparing an area which will be in constant use, and have permission, pave the camp-fire spot.
Keep buckets of water available and water carriers ready to control the fire if necessary.
In woodland a wide clear area well away from overhanging trees and with the fire pit bounded by an area cleared of all leaves and brush should be used.
Remember successful camp-fire building takes practice and patience.
Starting the fire:
Once you have your site, the space available will determine the size of the fire. It's best to start small, as a fire will always end up bigger than anticipated. You can always feed it later if it is dying out too early.
Try to find dry wood and cut odd branches to size. The best method of lighting a fire is to use a generous amount of tinder (fire-lighters if you really have to) surrounded by a wigwam of kindling and working up to larger branch size pieces with logs laid over when a good base fire has been established.
Once the tinder and kindling are lit build a frame of wood around it, with branches. Do not crowd the flames, too much too soon will smother the fire and starve it of oxygen. Once established, large logs, even wet or damp ones, can be dried around the fire and then used as fuel wood.
Clearing up:
This is your chance to burn any rubbish. stoke the fire with fuel wood and then once all rubbish is burnt leave the fire to burn itself out. NOTE: Do not attempt to burn tin cans, plastics, batteries etc these are highly dangerous may explode and can also give off harmful vapours.
When the fire has burned down to the hot embers, pour on cold water and leave it until the morning, do not leave fires unattended over night.
Every site has its own policy on what to do with the ash. Make sure you know whether it is to be scattered, buried or put in a special pit or ash bin. Replace turf or dig over any remaining ash and finally, check that the site looks just the same as it did when you all arrived.
The above is only a short guide, and is by no means an exhaustive list and we cannot be held responsible for any consequences of lighting a fire.
