Survival Information & Equipment

Fuels types for fire building in the wilderness -

Using the right kind of fuel will greatly increase your chances of building successful fires. Fires spread underground as well as above; it is essential that  fires are put out when finished with and before moving on, especially in hot dry environments, to ensure we don't burn down the last bits of wilderness that we need to survive in! Dig out hot earth and use any waste water(including that from your own body!) and dampen the entire area thoroughly.

Tinder

The role of tinder in fire making, is to catch the initial spark or flame as you apply it from the ignition source, and then transfer this flame to the kindling. If the kindling is damp or wet, the tinder needs to burn long enough to dry the kindling and catch it on fire. The drier the tinder the better.

Examples of tinder:
Tree bark such as that from paper birch, dead dry plants and grasses, wax, lint, char cloth, wood shavings, paper, pine pitch and dry needles from coniferous trees.You can make tinder by shaving wood from larger pieces of wood as demonstrated in the photo(right).

Kindling

Kindling is added to burning tinder so that it in turn catches fire and is useful to bridge the gap between fragile kindling andthe larger fuel that will eventally keep the fire going. The large surface to volume ratio of kindling makes it readily combust (or “kindle”) when in contact with the hot tinder or, if wet, easier to dry so that it readily burns.  The best kindling will easily catch fire and burn very hot.

Examples of kindling:
Small, fine, dry twigs and wood pieces, and cardboard.You can make kindling from larger pieces of wood by cutting them down in size or by making a fire stick as demonstrated in the photo.

Be prepared:

Make your own tinder 'Petroleum Jelly Fire Starters'. Roll cotton wool into balls about the size of your thumbnail and coat them with petrolium jelly, pack tightly into a container to keep in your survival kit or grab-bag. These little fire starter aids will burn very hot for many minutes, causing even wet kindling to become dry enough to catch on fire.

Make your own  char cloth. Put some cotton cloth ( Synthetic materials do not work). in a small tin or an airtight roll of tin foil and make a little hole in the lid of the tin. Heat up the tin over a flame. The cloth will eventually reach a hot enough temperature and combust (you will see smoke escaping from the holes). Because the the fire is starved of oxygen, the carbon in the cotton does not burn and remains behind as a fragile and excellent tinder source.

Check out some excellent lighters here

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