scouts how to make a fire

Make an “A” or “V” frame of logs Open end facing the wind. Camping, Camping Advice and Tips, Cooking, Ground Rules, Leave No Trace, Magazine, Outdoors, Stoves & Fire. Thoroughly soak the ashes with water and scatter the cold ashes over a wide area of plant-covered ground away from camp. Set a handful of tinder beneath the stick. In this episode, we demonstrate our way of starting a fire and show what type of fuel and what steps to take to build and start a successful fire. When weight is of less concern, add a folding saw and hatchet. The teepee and the lean-to work well in areas where thin, dry branches are readily available. Make your fire circle ring with cheerios or mini marshmallows. Water bucket, shovels, sand/dirt, etc. Before building a fire, it’s a good idea to assemble the tools for putting it out. Bravo! This would be a good activity for Webelos about to head out on their first camp out. Use this unique way to demonstrate fire building and fire safety at a troop meeting. Build up several layers of kindling. Char cloth takes a spark very easily, smolders for a long time, is easy to make and weighs next to nothing. 1) First, clear an area of debris at least eight to ten feet around where the fire will be built. Split logs burn best. There’s one thing that I would add: The very first thing you need before building a fire is something to put the fire out. These kid-made fire starters are another sure-fire, super fun thing. Tie a string between them 12 inches above the ground and another string 6 inches above that one. 6 Silly and Simple Cub Scout Skits for Campfires. Some wood burns better than others, but few campers can tell species apart. Have your water bucket & tools nearby. Keep the fire small and burning only for the amount of time you are using it. Follow the Fire Light from below. The teepee, lean-to and log-cabin are most popular. Fibrous materials like scraped cedar bark tend to work best. New Scouts have a rough time with this concept. Don’t overload the fire base with kindling or fuel. The Birth of a Fire Starter! The fire should not degrade the surrounding area as a result of the concentrated trampling of people who are cooking and socializing. Don’t short-change your tinder bundle; make it as big as possible, at least the size of a five-pin bowling ball. One doesn’t want to have to chop more wood while dinner is cooking! Each girl can build her own fire as fire building and fire … We went step by step building our edible campfire, discussing what we'll need to do and NOT do when we are at our real camp fire outside. You can buy them or make your own. As with making any fire, preparation is key. Bark (with some exceptions) does not burn well. Everyone should split into a small group. Make sure there are no overhanging branches. Tinder: Thin, dry material that ignites instantly with a match. Collect wood These bone-dry sticks should range from pencil-thin to no larger than your thumb. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Add the candy corn flames. Discuss safe places to make a fire. Build your fire. Photographs by Aaron Ansarov Established fire ring, 10′ diameter cleared area, fire holder or down to mineral earth!! Review the Guide to Safe Scouting’s policies on chemical fuels before creating your own fire starters. Build a fire only in areas where wood is abundant. Teaching Cub Scouts How to Build a Fire. Seriously, they love it. Safety first. Bridge the kindling over tinder in a log-cabin style. Clear the site so that there is no trace you’ve made a re. Place a lit match or flame in the tinder bundle to start the fire, if your using a more primitive method, make a small flame outside of the teepee and then move it under the tinder bundle inside so it won't catch as best as you can. By Cliff Jacobson A Camp Fire "Fun Patch" was earned for our camp fire time. Whether your campfire is a camporee extravaganza for an audience of 500 or a circle of a dozen Scouts and adults, a little planning can go a long way. Find a safe space to collect firewood and build fires. A cheery fire warms both body and heart; for many, it defines the camping spirit. char cloth and a striker should be part of every scouts kit. Smoke tells you that the fire needs more oxygen. Let the ash cool to the touch. FIRST THING!!! A good fire can serve many uses: cooking, heat, light and protection. Open up and spread out the napkin. Red Hots (Fire) Gold Fish Crackers (Fish) Steps. Do not add fuel until the fire is burning brightly. The Means To Extinguish The Fire. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. of kindling for each fire you build. The thinner the wood, the faster and more smoke-free it will burn. See you on the trail! It’s the basis of every fire. 04 scouts.org.uk/sac sac@scouts.org.uk 0845 300 2549 Build a circle of large rocks to contain the fire(s). Make sure the fire spot is on dry ground, or build a bed of rocks. Then you will see how to make foil pack lemon walleye, a hobo meal in a foil pack, and campfire cinnamon rolls. Remember Leave No Trace principles and fire-safety rules. Join us as members from the Volunteer Learning team at Girl Scouts of Western Washington share their outdoor skills expertise. The raised platform that supports the tinder will produce a smoke-free, bright flame — ideal if the wood is damp or the ground is wet. Scatter the ashes and return the soil to where you got it. Wood burns better when organized in roughly parallel layers. Wood should be small enough to break with your hands. Lean-to: On soft ground, poke a dry stick into the soil at a 45-degree angle. Keeping it beneath the 12-inch string, each Scout or team arranges the tinder, kindling and fuel wood for a fire. Clear the area of dry leaves, twigs, or other items that could ignite and cause the fire to spread. 5) Means to ignite: Flint & Steel, matches, fire piston, fire drill, all prepared BEFORE you start! You must light the fuel from below. Consider the four S’s: showmanship, skits, songs and stories. FIRE LAYS Big-picture planning strategies. When confronted with a situation of survival in the wilderness, nothing is more essential than a fire. Break your pretzel log into 3 pieces and use them to make a “V” or “A” shape. Seven Appalachian Trail Lessons Plus Three, Impressive Chart of Scouting Knots from 1925, Freezer Bag Cooking: Adventure Ready Recipes, How to Set Up Camp: Hangout Space - Dirty Gourmet. It’s also the foundation to get the others we’ll show you started. Explain to the girls: “We are now going to build a campfire. Fill a “water bucket” (a cup) and keep nearby. Examples include dead, dry grasses; the shredded inner bark of cedar trees; thin shavings cut from a stick; or birch bark (collected from the ground, not the living trees). It looks just like it sounds. SHOWMANSHIP. This snack will help introduce the concept. Every fire should follow Leave No Trace guidelines, provided in the sidebar. Kindling: Burns fast and creates a bright, smoke-free flame. You should see “light” between every stick/log you place on the fire. To get the most out of your fire, you’ll have to make sure that the fire and your shelter (if any) are as close together as possible. Read More about Teaching Cub Scouts How to Build a Fire. In school, students are taught a fire needs THREE things: , air (oxygen), fuel and an ignition source (sufficient heat). Point the high end toward the wind. Make your fire circle ring. Arrange pencil-thin kindling sticks around the tinder, teepee style. Try to build your fire right at the shelter’s entrance and to use rescue blankets on the roof and at the back of the shelter for keeping the heat inside, thus keeping you warmer. TOOLS Fire starters: Handy but not essential. Introduction to Fire Building To ensure a fun campfire experience and help minimize impact on the environment, this video provides basic skills on Leave No Trace ethics, wood gathering, types of fire building methods, and how to start and extinguish a campfire. You could invite parents and carers along to help. You may want to bring a selection of different size wood along to supplement what everyone finds. From the March-April 2016 issue of Scouting magazine Find six simple, easy and silly skits your Cub Scouts can perform without much practice. FIRE SAFETY Stack long, thin shavings or other tinder on top. Little tinder and you are all set for a fire. You’ll need an armload If you can make a one-match campfire in any weather, you’ll be revered as an expert. Anyone can make fire on a sun-scorched day, but add wind and rain, and where there is smoke, there might not be fire! Create a safety circle outside your “fire circle.” (Make sure the area is clear around your plate.) Have sand and/or a bucket of water on hand in case the fire gets too big. The first fire to burn through both strings is the winner. Gather dead, dry wood from a wide area of land away from camp. Nice write up, even better is the link to the LNT page. Even in the rain with a lil bit of effort and practice. Keep a … Piling on wood that’s too thick too soon is one of the major reasons fires fail. Lots of entertainment to watch. How to Build a Fire and Cook on It for Cast Iron Chef In this video for the Webelos Cast Iron Chef adventure, we learn how to build a fire. A step by step tutorial about how to build a fire safely. Move any clutter back. Scout 2 returns with a good sized load of twigs and small sticks. Teepee: Ball up a handful of tinder and set it on the ground. Add too much wood at the start, and your fire might cool and go out. https://cubscoutideas.com/4085/teaching-cub-scouts-how-to-build-a-fire Create a fire ring with mini marshmallows and Cheerios. Fire Clean Up Always make sure your ﬁre is completely out. Choose a spot that is at least 6 feet (1.8 m) away from trees, bushes, and low hanging branches. The best place to build a fire is within an existing fire ring. Kids LOVE playing with melted wax. If packing light, a sturdy knife and matches are enough. The use of a fire pan is also a good alternative. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Set dry kindling sticks teepee-fashion (roughly parallel) on each side of the master stick. Keep the tinderbox small — about the size of a tin-can lid. Every fire should follow Leave No Trace guidelines, provided in the sidebar. MAKE THE FIRE SAFE Allow the re to burn out completely before leaving the area – use water to extinguish if necessary. You’ll need plenty of adults for this activity – one to supervise each fire. Fuel: Wood needed to keep your fire going. An adult should join each small group. The Fieldbook notes that Scouts and leaders should be prepared to not make a fire when camping, so they can make a wise choice when a fire is appropriate. We teach the scouts to start with a jug of water, then build the fire. After fully extinguishing a campfire with water (not dirt), grind small coals to ash between your gloved hands. Nothing on this website is an official publication of, nor bears the endorsement or sponsorship of any Scouting Organization. Good Scouting to you! Leave the fire site in the same condition in which you found it. Sneak in a lesson on how to build and maintain a campfire, and there you go–a happy kid who’s that much more confident outside, and is one step closer to an enjoyable camping experience. Make sure your egg carton is on top of the wax paper. Check with land managers for campfire regulations in the area where you plan to camp. This creates a “chimney effect,” which produces a better draw and hotter flame. Build the ﬁre on top of the mound, using only small pieces of wood. Log in. 6. Scout 1 gets out of his chair and storms out in the opposite direction of Scout 2. 3) “Clear Air” , overhead not blocked (no tree branches for sparks to catch in), and “PERMISSION” from the property owner and authorities (No “fire ban”, drought status, etc.) Each has its advantages. Split kindling burns best. Fire goes up. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window). Build a fire on a clear, dry surface. Before we ventured outside to build our campfire, our Girl Scouts learned "Camp Fire Safety" by building their own Edible Campfire (idea found HERE). Log-cabin: Set two wrist-thick sticks parallel on the ground, about 3 inches apart. I enjoyed this nicely-writen article. Check with land managers for campfire regulations in the area where you plan to camp. For Mike Barry's movie making merit badge. All the fires are ignited at the same time. 4) Fuel collected before you attempt to light the fire (tinder, kindling, sticks, big fuel). Instead, insert a few sticks at a time into the developing flame. Your email address will not be published. With these, you can saw and split small logs to get at the dry heartwood inside, which is essential if the wood is wet from rain. 1) !!!! Burn the ﬁre until it is completely gray ash—no cinders. But all will work if you follow this rule: Tinder must be bone-dry and no thicker than a wooden match. Make a small pile of chow mein noodle tinder in the corner of the “V” or “A.” Light the tinder with some red hots sparks. Make a teepee or lean to of tinder inside the logs in a corner of the A or V. Light the tinder with a match. The Fieldbook notes that Scouts and leaders should be prepared to not make a fire when camping, so they can make a wise choice when a fire is appropriate. 2) Lay your fire ring. Scouts should know how to build a fire. Learn how to safely build a fire. Get it right, and treat yourself and your Scouts to a fifth S: s’mores. Join us as members from the Volunteer Learning team at Girl Scouts of Western Washington share their outdoor skills expertise. Create an A-frame of “logs” with your pretzels. On hard ground, lean the master stick against a rock or log, with tinder below. The sillier, the better when it comes to Cub Scout skits! Make sure the place you choose is safe, and that you're able and allowed to build fires there. The basic fire safety rules of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts get taught to kids, yet looking at photos of adult fires on social media, I have some wish that basic fire safety gets taught before SOME adults can be trusted with matches in the forest. The tipi is your basic fire that every Boy Scout learned how to light. Examples: cotton balls dipped in petroleum jelly, cigar-sized logs rolled from newspaper and dipped in melted paraffin, or clothes-dryer lint. Every stick/log you add draws heat from the young blaze. A ﬁre is out when the coals are cold enough Clear a safety circle 5 feet out from the fire circle. I’ll hang a printout of both in the scout room. In our IOLS, we teach the FIVE things a Scout Camp Fire Needs: The fire should cause no further negative impact on land. 2) A Safe Area In Which To Build It. All rights reserved. (You should never use gasoline to start a fire!) How to choose the best backcountry communication device for your next adventure, Tiger Cub Safari celebrates Cub Scouting’s youngest members. Tinder that is available in one region might be unavailable in another. Every fire should abide by these Leave No Trace practices: You can read more about minimizing campfire impacts on land at LNT.org/learn/principle-5. Add pretzel sticks kindling. Place a few pencil-thin kindling sticks across the wrist-thick sticks. After the wax is … I am always amazed how many kids don’t understand the concept of using tinder and small sticks. Invite parents or carers (or older young people) to help. Leather gloves or pliers are useful for moving grills and stirring burning wood. Remember, a fire that is improperly made or left unattended can quickly become a destructive force. © 2021, Boy Scouts of America. There are dozens of fire lays. Gather a handful of tinder for each fire you make. While we do our best to get things right the final word on policy and procedure is found in the resources produced by your Scouting organization. If you see smoke between two sticks, move them farther apart. He proceeds to efficiently make the fire with the other materials he brought in earlier. Often not codified or mentioned in our Scouter training or even emphasized in “Fireman Chit” is the need to have your extinguishing means ready FIRST, not as an afterthought. Arrange Jelly Beans or M&Ms on the napkin in a wide circle at least 5” in diameter. Madison Scouts BSA Troop 7 conducted a training program over several weeks, culminating in a troop-wide fire building competition Aug. 3 at Summerhill Park. Build and start an A-frame fire Materials Needed: o Fire safety pledge (from step 1) o Matches (box matches tend to be easier) o Bucket of Water o Established Fire Pit o Wood of varying sizes o Marshmallows or food to cook over the fire Lesson Plan: 1. New Scouts pile stuff up and then try and light it from above or from the side.