1. The right sort of fire pit

Choose a spot for the fire pit in an area with a radius of at least three meters (including height) and free of any light flammable materials or objects. This includes making sure that the soil at this location is fireproof and not too loose. Loose soil poses the risk of root rot. The glow that spreads to the roots, gets so much oxygen that it may well eat along under the ground and even days later, rekindle fire, meters away in a new spot.

It could also possibly mean that a loose forest floor is not just loose soil but in fact compressed and partially rotted leaves, which may also begin to burn. In this case your fire will start to sink deeper and deeper into the ground. Caution should be particularly taken in the spring after the snow has melted and also in late autumn. These seasons tend to have more leaves and dead grasses lying around and are usually soaked by rain thus appear harmless. However, the moisture is only superficial as leaves and grasses will contain no moisture and as soon as the rainwater has evaporated by the heat of the fire, they will quickly ignite.

2. Choosing and preparing the campfire

To start a fire, you need to be able to kindle the first embers or the first flame. There are various methods and tools, which all have their advantages and disadvantages. To keep it simple, we’ve chosen the use of matches, which are included in every survival kit and aren’t too difficult to have on hand.

Lighting a candle with matches is easy enough, but starting a fire is a bit more difficult. These small wooden wonders have two major drawbacks: they are only available in limited quantities, so the attempt at lighting a fire is limited and they lose their effectiveness when they are wet or damp.

Here’s a trick to protect matches against becoming moist. Dip the heads of matches in liquid wax before you leave home so that a small protective layer is formed. If you need the wood, you can easily scrape back the protective layer with a finger.

• Preparation: Before you light the fire, make sure that you’ve gathered enough kindling to actually fuel it. There’s nothing more demotivating than having lugged a cumbersome batch of kindled wood, only to have it almost immediately go out, because you’ve simply not collected enough.
• Wind protection: Pay attention especially to the wind, because if it’s too strong, it’ll easily lead to strong sparks flying. This is especially dangerous because the sparks will blow with wind. So if it’s windy, it’s going to be necessary to build up a windbreak around the fire. This may consist of an earthen wall, stone slabs will also work, or even compressed grasses. With wind forces of 6 knots or more, making a fire should be avoided!
• Caution with wet stones: However, even without wind, it still makes sense to use non-combustible natural materials to prevent the fire from spreading uncontrollably. Do not use wet stones! These develop internal combustion via spontaneous heating that causes them to jump very easily, creating a dangerous projectile. Therefore put them first at some distance around the fire and let them dry slowly. The following rule applies – the finer the pore of the stone, the more slowly it should dry out.

3. the right fuel for burning

In order for a fire to burn properly, it needs the right fuel ignition for each combustion phase. Meaning if you put a match to a tree trunk, you won’t have much luck. First off you will need tinder or at least something that burns easily.

• Tinder: For this, the seeds of dandelions, thistles or dry cattails can be useful. Readily combustible materials are also dry leaves, dry grass, dry needles or thin wood shavings. The latter you carve with a penknife from dry branches.
• Kindling: The next step is to gather up some ignition source. What works extremely well are spruce twigs. Spruces have no natural branch removal system, meaning that dead, small branches just stay on the tree, where they can draw moisture. Even if it rains these little twigs will burn like the devil. Gather as much as possible and make small, handy bundles. If no spruce twigs are around, other types of thin branches or twigs will suffice.
• Fuel: Lastly, you’ll need lots of fuelwood that will burn for a long time. The wood should vary in length, strength and thickness – from finger-thick branches up to about branches that are arm-thick in length.

4. Constructiing the fire

Nothing is as critical to your success as a “fire-maker” as the correct structure of your fire pit. If the soil is wet or damp, it is important first to build a so-called counter-batten, in order for you to get your fire started.

• Building a foundation: Lay thin (approx. thumb thickness) branches and twigs parallel to each other, as if you were wanting to build a small floor surface. On top of this another which should be exactly crosswise to the first layer, similar to a grid. This first will keep soil moisture away from the fire while the second layer will improve the heat build-up as the fire can spread upwards and downwards without hindrance.

• Piling up tinder: Now, pile up the tinder on the ground surrounded by flammable materials (dry grass, paper, cotton balls, anything that will ignite and catch) compress this well, so that later proper glowy embers form. In this way, valuable heat is not simply lost.

• Creating a pyramid or teepee: Now you can set up a small pyramid or teepee from this inner core around your twigs and branches. It should also be well compressed. The next layer then comes from thin branches, which is also set up as a pyramid on the periphery of the tinder. Pay attention, however, that you leave a gap-free, so that the fire can be ignited within the inside!

5. Getting the fire started: From the first ember to a full-blown flame

The first phase of the fire is always the most critical. It’s here where most people get it wrong the most. So before you light your match, check again, the direction from which the wind is blowing and sit before your fire, so that your back protects it like a shield. Light the match as close as possible to your pyramid so that it won’t blow out. Flames should always burn from bottom to top. Therefore the tinder should be kindled at the lowest possible point, or – even better – in several places. If it is wet, it’s helpful to ignite several matches in various spots at once in order to achieve a greater heat generation.

As soon as the first flames are burning inside the pyramid, you need to heat up the fire. For this, it will need oxygen. Slowly blow evenly into the pyramid and also as far down as possible. Blow a jet of air into the fire not onto flames. As long as only the highly combustible materials are burning, the situation is still critical. If the twigs have caught alight, then you’re almost there!

Now make sure that the thicker branches catch fire. Correct their positions if necessary, so that they are exactly in the flames. Also, begin to further feed the fire with more wood, so it increases slowly and always has enough fuel to burn. If you wait too long, the whole thing could collapse and go out – even though it’s already started to burn!

7. Putting the fire out safely without leaving any traces behind

For putting out a fire, there are two possibilities. Either the oxygen needs to be taken away – or the fuel. Smothering the fire with earth, sand or a wet piece of material will stop the oxygen flow and for extinguishing the flames simply pour plenty of water to stop the fire from burning. In this instance, it makes more sense to do the watering from the side on and only on the coals rather than trying to extinguish from the top.

A combination of both methods is ideal. Let the fire burn down as far as possible and then put the rest out with water, earth, or whatever else can be found. A popular and proven method is to simply urinate on the fire.

A fire is only out when there are no embers and no longer smoke. Wave your hand over the fire pit and check whether you still feel a build-up of heat. Before leaving the area, it’s a good idea to sprinkle the fire pit with the forest floor. Pay attention to the fact that the fire area should be left as you found it.