How to Build a Fire With Your Kids in 5 Minutes
My oldest boy wanted to learn how to build a fire from the US Air Force Survival Handbook book.
My oldest boy wanted to learn how to build a fire from the US Air Force Survival Handbook book. We built a Tepee fire on Saturday afternoon in the hot August sun.
Step By Step Fire Building Process
The Survival handbook offers more than nine different ways to build a fire. The book addresses different scenarios that you might encounter and offers options for starting a fire.
Picking the Tepee Fire
My son wanted to build a Tepee fire because it looked cool. He also watched some Outdoor Boys episodes on YouTube and wanted to make campfires.
The Tepee fire is also one of the easiest ways to start a fire if you need one quickly.
Building the Tepee
I chopped some smaller pieces of wood for him. Then, he started building his Tepee. This was tricky because it fell over several times, and he had to restart.
Lessons learned: Build a Tepee with shorter wood pieces. That way, they stack easier together.
The Tepee Structure is Complete
He built the Tepee structure with the log cabin wood in the center. He added some starter that we would eventually light on fire. You can see the smaller Tepee fire he had built in the background. But we opted for the bigger one.
Lessons learned: We did not have enough starter and had to grab more later.
Ring the Fire with Rocks
When you ring the fire with rocks, do not use coal, limestone, sandstone, or rocks submerged in water. The heat may cause those types of stones to explode and cause injury.
Lessons learned: He had grabbed smaller stones to ring his fire. Then, he had to find much bigger ones to contain the fire.
The Result
Building a fire is hard work. Afterward, he had time to enjoy a Costco lunch, sit back, and enjoy his fire. I would encourage everyone to get outdoors and do something with their kids.
If we start when they are young, it will all be expected of them when they are older.
Stay well, brothers.
~ FA
Additional References
I want to thank the X community for the following references, which can be handy when learning how to build a fire.
Website
- It's an ancient website with a ton of good information. Check it out.
Books
- Air Force Handbook 10-644 Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) book
Children's Book
- To Build a Fire and Other Stories
Stay Connected
- I talk about Preparedness, Christian Living, and Encouragement.
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