Information Booklet 2

NOTES: Information Booklet 2 Fire Lighting Compiled For Cambridgeshire Scouts August 2013 Fire Types and Wood Qualities ESSENTIALS Fire lighting is a fundamental skill in Scouting. It is vital for cooking, keep- ing warm and as a focal point for camp activities. As such, being able to prepare, light and maintain different sorts of fires is very important. It is equally important to know how to extinguish a fire and to clear a fireplace correctly. Three elements are needed to make a fire: oxygen, heat and fuel. This is known as a fire triangle. Typically, wood is the fuel for a fire, oxygen is pro- vided by the air and the heat comes from a match or spark. If any of these elements are removed, the fire will go out. Basic Rules :- 1 Ask permission from the farmer or Land Owner or Camp Warden if live fires are allowed. 2 If you are using Farmer's Land check to see if turfing will be all right, some Landowners may prefer you not to turf as animals can sometimes dig the fire up later - so remember Always take the farmer's advice. Different tinders – Practise fire lighting using different natural and artifi- 3 Decide where to light the fire - well away from tents, trees and hedges cial tinders such as birch bark, dry grass, tinder sticks, feather sticks or which might also catch fire. cotton wool balls coated in petroleum jelly. 4 You do not want the grass to catch fire, so lift enough turf (about eight centimetres thick so the roots are not destroyed) to give a patch of bare Different fire lays – Explore the different ways to structure a fire for differ- ground for the fire with a good gap around it. ent purposes. This could include tipi fires, stacks, star fires, long log fires 5 Keep the turf in a cool damp place so that you can put it back when and so on. you have finished. 6 If the turf must be kept for more than a day or two, store it upside-down Backwoods cooking – Practise fire lighting for cooking. Remember, you’ll with the roots on top and keep it well watered. need to light your fire well in advance to create cooking embers. 7 REMEMBER - When you leave no one must be aware that you had a fire, so clear up and no visible signs must show. Cutting Turf. Long Term Storage. GOOD PRACTICE Consider whether it is appropriate to light a fire. If conditions are particularly hot and dry, or if you are camping in an area with underground root systems or peaty soil, then the risks may outweigh the benefits. Preparation is vital. Collect plenty of dead, dry wood. This will typically be found off the ground, hung up in branches, but if it has rained recently, look under bushes and trees. Feed the fire, don’t smother it, and pay particular attention in the early stages. Replenish fuel frequently as needed. Add fuel in handfuls rather than one stick at a time. If you struggle to light your fire use natural tinder such as birch bark to take the initial spark or flame. Cook over embers, not over flames, as it is these that produce sus- tained heat. Always return fire sites to their original state, leaving no trace that you have been there. Different sources of ignition – Investigate and learn how to use methods other than matches and lighters to start fires. Fire can be created by friction, by percussion, or by solar, electrical and chemical methods. You may wish to try making fire by percussion (striking materials to create a spark) using traditional flints and steels, fire pistons or ferrocerium rods (‘fire steels’). Fire by friction includes the bow drill and fire plough techniques. Solar fires are created by focusing the sun’s rays using a lens or mirror. Try making an improvised mirror by polishing the bottom of a coke can with chocolate or toothpaste. SAFETY GUIDELINES SUMMARISE… Stay calm when lighting fires, and no matter what happens, do not What? This activity checks understanding of the skills taught in the lesson. panic How? A good way to do this is to have a pre-printed series of photographs (or Never use paraffin, petrol or methylated sprits to light or revive a a slideshow on a laptop) showing the area before your session started. Ask fire participants to stand in the same place as the photo was taken and compare Chose the site of your fire with care, and never light a fire on peat, the two views – before and after. Does it look the same? Using this evidence or in areas with underground root systems or low branches they should fix what they can. They should acknowledge anything they can’t Never leave a fire unattended. fix and explain how they would lessen this impact next time they light a fire. Never underestimate the potential reach of a fire or the strength of the wind. Ensure you can extinguish a fire quickly in case of emergency. TAKING IT FURTHER... Keep either a bucket or water, fire beaters or a pile of earth and You could create lessons to cover some of the following topics: shovel close at hand. Carry firelighters and waterproof matches, a fire steel or lighter to use in case of emergency. Play a True or False quiz. Sample statements: Keep long hair tied back when lighting fires. ‘It is a good idea to carry paraffin or meths in case the fire won’t light.’ [FALSE] For the wood and kindling to burn they need oxygen, but too much wind ‘You should pile on as much wood as possible once there is a reason- can blow out a small flame. Watch carefully and shield it from strong able flame.’ [FALSE] winds. Blow gently to help the flames spread. ‘Three elements are needed to light a fire: fuel, oxygen and heat.’ [TRUE] Once the fire is alight, put a few larger pieces of wood at the end of it ‘It is a good idea to light your fire under overhanging trees in case it where the wind blows the flame on to them. When they are well alight, add rains.’ [FALSE] more wood to the other end. The fire will be hottest and best for cooking when the wood has burnt for a while and has red and glowing embers rather than flames. When you add more wood aim to keep at least one part of the fire just right for cooking on Extinguishing Fires. The most important part of tending a campfire is what happens to it when you have finished using it. If you properly extinguish the flames and dispose of the ashes and firelay, you can leave the area certain you’ve done nothing to harm the land. one can light the tinder from one match, or from their first flint strike. Once Put out a fire by sprinkling it with plenty of water, stirring the embers to they have achieved this you may permit them to build a larger fire. moisten them thoroughly. Do not stop until the remains of your fire pass the cold - out test, which means you can safely run your hands through SUMMARISE… the extinguished ashes. What? This activity checks understanding of the skills taught in the lesson. How? A great activity for this would be a relay race where participants After the fire is dead out, crush the ashes, mix them with the mineral soil have to race up to the fire area, light a ball of tinder and race back. The of the firelay and return the soil to the pit from which it was dug. In next participant then has to race up and add kindling before the tinder established, frequently used campsites, you can leave a neat pile of goes out and so on, until they have built a fire. This is also a good tool to firewood for the next campers to use, but everywhere else you’ll want to reinforce the idea that once fuel is on the fire it should be left rather than scatter your firewood over a wide area to help remove every sign of your fiddled with. Alternatively, teams could race to make a cup of tea, using camp. Finally, replace any ground cover you disturbed, and do whatever the fire to boil the water. else you can to return the fire site to the condition in which you found it. LESSON 4 Larger types of Fire Extinguishing and clearing up after a fire (20 minutes) INTRODUCE… What? That fires need to be extinguished properly and carefully, and fire sites need to be returned to their original state. How? Ask the group what they think needs to happen when you are leaving the fire and why. What should happen at the end of the camp? It is useful to have some photos of forest fires, and/or picturesque locations scarred by camp fires. DEMONSTRATE… What? How a fire is extinguished correctly. How? Using your demonstration fire, show the group how to extinguish a fire – either by dousing or smothering, then spreading the embers to cool. Follow up with questions about why you extinguished the fire in this way. EXPLAIN… What? How to return a site to its original state and the standards you ex- pect. How? Explain the principle of ‘leave no trace’ or ‘take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints’. Give the group some expectations of what you would like this area to look like when you have finished.

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