Camp Fire Safety

First and foremost, please understand... You are only allowed to light a fire in designated areas. Some camp grounds - such as in national parks or state parks - require you to pay money for a camp fire permit. Make sure you're legal; the fines can be really punitive.

And even on private property, if the humidity is low and the winds are high, this means the fire danger is also very high. Just a few stray sparks or embers from your camp fire can set off a forest fire. So pay attention to any fire bans which might be in force. Phone your local fire warden to check the dangers and get permission. In the US, you would check with Smoky the Bear, I believe.)

If all these checks are okay. Then you can build your camp fire. Use any designated area first, because it's where the authorities have already decided a controlled campfire should be safe.

Make sure the area all around your campfire is clear of tinder -- dry wood, leaves and pine needles, pine cones -- anything that might catch fire by accident. For added fire safety, have a bucket of water standing nearby so you can douse the fire out fast if you have to.

Gather a good stock of wood fuel before you try to light anything. Consider the firewood as three types: tinder, kindling and sustaining fuel, and stack them in different piles.

Tinder is the smallest dry fuel you can get. Wood shavings, a mouse nest, charred cloth. A kerosene (paraffin)-soaked roller bandage does this job well, and so does a candle. Use the tinder to set fire to the...

Kindling which is match stick-thin slivers of twigs which will catch fire easily from your tinder. Kindling should not be any thicker than a pencil. You can use a knife or a very sharp axe to split larger wood down to kindling. It too should be bone dry. (You can cover your store of tinder and kindling with plastic overnight to keep it dry.)

Fuel is made up of larger pieces of wood and even logs. These take a lot of hot flame below them to get them alight, but they will burn a long time and leave you with a bed of hot coals afterwards for cooking.

You can never have too much fuel, so stack at least twice as much as you think you'll need. It saves scurrying around once the campfire's lit.

Enjoy your camp fire, and never, ever, leave it unattended. When you've finished for the night put it out completely by pouring water over the fire and stirring the embers into mud. This is called putting the fire "dead out". Use a lot of water so you can touch the charcoal with your fingers and not be burned. Then you know the fire is really safe and completely extinguished. You don't ever want to start a forest fire.