Hi my name is Ryan. I help people learn to do fun camping activities. Since families spend lots of time around a campfire whether they’re cooking or just relaxing, it is important to know how to safely build a fire that will last. So today I’m going to teach you how to safely build a campfire.

Supplies

The supplies needed for this task consists of three things, a fire pit, a lighter or matches, and firewood.

Step 1:

The first step for building a campfire is to find a safe spot. If at a campground there will most likely be a designated area for a campfire, in this case I am using my firepit at home. If there’s no specific area for a campfire, find a spot away from structures, low hanging branches, brush piles or other flammable material. To make the spot even safer keep a bucket of water near in case the fire gets out of hand.

Step 2:

Next start looking for three types of wood. The first is tinder which is small twigs and dry leaves, dry grass and needles. Then find sticks smaller than 1” thick, or kindling. The third type of wood is the fuel for the fire, or logs/larger sticks.

Step 3:

For the third step take a few handfuls of tinder and loosely pile it in the center of the fire pit. The tinder is what’s going to get the fire started so make sure its dry. Now add the kindling on top of the tinder. If you’re looking to cook with this fire try to arrange the kindling similar to a teepee structure. If you want just a regular fire the best method would be to arrange the kindling into an “X’ or crisscross the kindling over the tinder.

Step 4:

For step four find or grab a lighter, matches or some sort of fire starter. Take the fire starter and light the tinder at the bottom of the pile on fire. The tinder should quickly catch flame and then the flame will move to your kindling. If you have some flame but not a lot add more tinder to the fire and the flame should get bigger, if not try safely lighting tinder in a different spot. If none of that works cautiously blow on the flame and it should get bigger.