Knowing the basics of campfire safety can prevent you from being injured and can prevent you from accidentally setting a fire that could cause significant property damage or death. Starting a fire doesn′t actually begin with getting kindling and paper together to get the initial flames going. The first thing you’ll need to determine is where you can start a fire safely. If you’re at a campground, this means using the fire ring provided. In most cases, starting a fire outside of this ring will result in you getting into some significant trouble with the management of the campground.
If you need to dig the fire pit, you’ll want to dig it at least 6 inches deep and you need to ring it with rocks to make sure that there is some sort of an barrier between the fire and anything that may catch outside of the fire ring. Never light a fire directly on the ground without at least digging down a few inches.
You can start a campfire without using any type of lighter fluid or other accelerant. In fact, it′s much safer to do it this way. Even though you may not have that much fuel on the fire, a fire that uses an accelerant for fuel will get going much faster than one that does not and this may cause it to go out of control. Remember that it only takes a small spark to set an awful lot of dry brush alight.
Add your fuel to the fire very slowly. Remember that a fire can grow very quickly and you don′t want to overestimate how large of a fire you actually need. If the fire gets too big, it′s much harder to deal with than it is to deal with a fire that′s not taking off quite as quickly as you would like.
Provided that you have a way of putting the fire out and that you’ve started the fire in a fire ring or a pit that keeps it somewhat contained, you shouldn′t have any trouble. Check around the perimeter of your camp every once in a while to make sure that any ashes from the fire aren′t landing in an area where they can cause problems, such as in an area with a lot of dry grass. If they are, let the fire burn down a little bit so that it′s not putting out so much ash.
Wendy is a consultant for a specialty torch lighter store and has expert knowledge of butane accessories, including single flame torch lighters.