Learn essential outdoor fire and heat skills, including campfires, stoves, fire lays, lighting and maintaining fires, fire safety and staying warm.
A good campfire doesn’t need to have huge flames to be effective. For many outdoor activities, the most useful fire is one that burns steadily and predictably, providing a consistent amount of heat without constantly flaring up, smoking or dying down. Keeping a campfire burning evenly is an important part of fire maintenance. It involves…
Adding wood to a campfire seems simple, but it is an important part of maintaining a fire safely. Adding too much fuel at once can make a fire suddenly grow, while placing wood badly can cause burning logs to roll or sparks to escape. Good fire management means adding suitable fuel gradually and paying attention…
A good campfire isn’t necessarily a large campfire. One of the most important parts of fire maintenance is keeping the fire at a suitable size for what you are trying to do. A fire that is too small may not provide enough heat, while a fire that is unnecessarily large can become difficult to manage…
Leaving a campsite after a fire activity involves more than packing away the equipment. A fire that looks finished may still contain hot embers, glowing material or smouldering fuel. If it hasn’t been properly extinguished, it can remain a hazard after everyone has left. Taking a few minutes to carry out a final fire-safety check…
Lighting a campfire should never be the first step of a fire activity. Before a flame is introduced, there are several things that should be checked to make sure the fire is appropriate for the location, weather conditions, equipment and people involved. Taking a few minutes to carry out these checks can prevent many common…
Smoke is an often-overlooked part of campfire safety. When people think about the dangers of a campfire, they usually think about flames, hot embers and burns. Smoke can also cause problems, particularly when a fire is producing a lot of it or wind is blowing it towards people. For Scouts and leaders, understanding smoke safety…
Campfires can be a memorable part of camping and outdoor activities, but children need clear boundaries and appropriate supervision around fire. Younger children may not fully understand how quickly flames can cause burns or how hot embers and equipment can remain after the flames disappear. They may also be curious about the fire and want…
A campfire should always be planned and supervised so that it remains manageable. However, outdoor conditions can change quickly, and a fire can sometimes become larger or behave differently from expected. Flames may spread beyond the fire area, burning material may be blown by the wind, or nearby vegetation may catch alight. Knowing what to…
Hot, dry weather can significantly increase the risk associated with outdoor fires. Grass, leaves, bracken and other vegetation can dry out quickly, making them easier to ignite. A fire that would normally be manageable can also spread much more rapidly when the surrounding environment is dry. For Scouts and leaders, this means that warm weather…
Wind can make an outdoor fire much more difficult to manage. A fire that appears calm in still conditions can behave very differently when the wind picks up. Flames can lean to one side, sparks can travel further and burning material can be disturbed or carried away from the main fire. For Scouts and leaders,…
