Learn essential survival skills including shelter building, fire lighting, navigation, first aid, outdoor safety and practical skills to survive in the wilderness.
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,…
Choosing where to have a campfire is one of the most important fire-safety decisions you can make. A well-managed fire in a suitable location is much easier to control than a fire built too close to tents, trees, dry vegetation or other hazards. For Scouts, learning how to assess a potential fire site is an…
The teepee fire lay is one of the simplest and most recognisable ways to arrange tinder, kindling and fuel when preparing a fire. It gets its name from its shape. Smaller pieces of wood are arranged around the tinder to create a roughly cone-shaped structure, similar to a traditional teepee. For Scouts learning about fire…
There are several different ways to arrange wood when building a fire, and each arrangement is known as a fire lay. The design you choose can affect how easily a fire lights, how quickly it develops, how much heat it produces and how long it continues to burn. For Scouts, learning different fire lays is…
Lashings are one of the most useful skills in Scout pioneering. They allow Scouts to join poles together using rope, creating the framework for useful structures, games and challenges. Learning lashings combines knot skills with practical problem-solving. Scouts need to think about where poles should go, how they should be positioned and how the ropes…
