SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 22: Make a Basic Fire Lay

Getting a fire going outdoors is much easier when you prepare properly before striking a match or creating a spark. A good fire lay brings together the right materials in an arrangement that allows the tinder to catch, the kindling to ignite and the fire to grow gradually.

For this challenge, you’ll practise building a basic fire lay from the ground up. You don’t have to light it to complete the challenge: learning to select and arrange your materials correctly is a useful skill in its own right.

Your Challenge

Build a basic fire lay using tinder, kindling and larger fuel wood. Arrange the materials so that a small flame could spread to the kindling without being smothered, and make sure you understand the purpose of each layer.

You’ll be working towards a simple, reliable starting point for future fire-lighting practice.

What You’ll Need

• A clear, suitable place where you are permitted to prepare a fire lay.
• A small bundle of dry tinder, such as dry grass, fine wood shavings or suitable natural fibres.
• A selection of thin, dry kindling sticks.
• A few larger pieces of dry fuel wood.
• A small number of thicker sticks to help form a base if the ground is damp.
• A camera or phone to photograph your finished fire lay.

You can practise with clean, dry sticks collected from your own garden or use suitable materials provided at a campsite. Avoid stripping bark or breaking living branches unnecessarily. If you are practising without an actual fire, you can also use clean sticks and substitute materials to demonstrate the arrangement.

Take the Challenge

Step 1: Understand your materials

Before building anything, sort your materials into three groups. This helps you understand what each part of a fire lay is supposed to do.

Tinder is the finest, easiest-to-ignite material. It needs to catch a small flame or spark and burn long enough to ignite the next layer. Dry grass, fine wood shavings and other suitable dry fibres can work well.

Kindling consists of small sticks that catch fire more readily than larger pieces of wood. You’ll need a range of thicknesses, starting with very thin twigs and working towards slightly thicker sticks.

Fuel wood is the larger wood that sustains the fire once the kindling is burning well. There is little point in starting with large logs: a small flame is unlikely to ignite them before the tinder and kindling have burnt away.

Keep the materials separate while you work. Having everything ready beforehand makes the building process much easier.

Step 2: Prepare the base

Choose a level, clear location, away from overhanging branches, tents, dry vegetation and anything else that could catch fire. Check the ground and the surrounding area, including the direction of the wind.

Only prepare a real fire lay where fires are permitted and you have the landowner’s permission. Follow any campsite rules and local fire restrictions. If conditions are too dry or windy, or there is a risk of the fire spreading, don’t proceed with a real fire.

Where appropriate, use an approved fire pit or designated hearth. If the ground is damp, a few dry sticks can provide a simple raised base for your materials, but don’t dig into or remove turf unless the site specifically permits it.

For this challenge, you can keep the arrangement small. A compact fire lay is easier to inspect and requires less fuel than a large structure.

Step 3: Position the tinder

Make a loose bundle of tinder and place it in the centre of your intended fire lay. It should be compact enough to keep the fine material together, but not so tightly packed that air cannot move through it.

Think of it as a small nest. The material needs to be accessible to the flame or spark, and the surrounding kindling must be close enough to catch without crushing the tinder.

If your tinder is damp, replace it with dry material rather than piling on more. Damp tinder often struggles to ignite and can make an otherwise well-built fire lay frustrating to use.

Step 4: Arrange the kindling

Place your thinnest kindling around and above the tinder, leaving small gaps for air to move through and for a flame to reach the material. Add slightly thicker sticks around this first layer, taking care not to squash the tinder.

A simple arrangement is a small wigwam or teepee shape, with the sticks leaning towards one another above the tinder. Keep the structure open rather than tightly packed. The aim is to give the flame a route upwards while allowing enough oxygen to reach the burning material.

You can also practise a simple criss-cross arrangement, laying small sticks across one another above the tinder. Whichever arrangement you choose, check that it is stable and that the smallest kindling is closest to the tinder.

Step 5: Prepare the larger fuel wood

Set your larger pieces of fuel wood beside the fire lay in order of size. Start with modest pieces that could be added once the kindling was burning steadily, followed by larger pieces for later.

Don’t pile all the fuel on top of the kindling. Too much weight can collapse the structure, while too much wood too early can restrict airflow and smother a small flame.

Keeping the fuel in a separate, orderly pile also means you can add it gradually rather than scrambling around to find suitable pieces when the fire is already burning.

Step 6: Inspect your fire lay

Take a moment to look at the complete arrangement from several angles. Ask yourself:

• Is the tinder dry and easy to reach?
• Does the smallest kindling sit close enough to catch?
• Can air move through the structure?
• Is the arrangement stable, without being packed too tightly?
• Have I sorted the larger fuel wood so it can be added gradually?
• Is the location safe and am I permitted to light a fire here?

Make any adjustments before taking your evidence photograph. If you’re only practising the arrangement, leave it unlit. You can complete this challenge without creating a flame.

Safety

Fire preparation is part of fire safety, not separate from it. Keep matches, lighters and fire-lighting tools away from the work area until they are needed, and never use petrol, methylated spirits or other flammable liquids to start a fire.

If you are going to light the fire as an additional activity, make sure you have appropriate supervision, suitable fire-extinguishing equipment immediately available and a clear plan for fully extinguishing the fire afterwards. Never leave a fire unattended. Keep people at a safe distance and tie back long hair, securing loose clothing.

If you are unsure whether a fire is allowed or safe in the conditions, practise the arrangement without lighting it.

For further practical guidance, see the Scouts activity Build a star fire, which explains how to prepare materials and arrange a basic fire.

Check Your Results

Before submitting your evidence, check that you can:

• Identify the difference between tinder, kindling and fuel wood.
• Explain why the tinder needs to be dry and accessible.
• Arrange kindling without crushing the tinder.
• Leave enough gaps for air to move through the fire lay.
• Explain why larger pieces of wood should be added gradually.
• Identify the safety checks that must happen before a fire is lit.

If your arrangement looks cramped or unstable, rebuild it. The aim is to understand why the materials are arranged in a particular way, rather than simply making a pile of sticks.

Complete the Challenge

To complete this challenge, photograph your finished basic fire lay. Make sure the picture shows the tinder, the surrounding kindling and the larger fuel wood clearly enough for someone to understand how you have prepared it.

You do not need to light the fire. A well-prepared, unlit fire lay is sufficient evidence for this challenge.

How to Submit Your Challenge

1. Go to your SGUK member profile.
2. Open the Social Activity area.
3. Upload a photograph of your completed fire lay to your activity wall.
4. Add the hashtag #SGUKChallenge22.
5. Share your post for evidence verification.

Once you’ve shared your evidence and it has been verified, the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 22 is complete and the completed challenges figure will be updated on your profile.

Challenge 22 Checklist

Want to Push Yourself?

Once you can build a basic fire lay, try comparing two arrangements. Make a small wigwam-style lay and a simple criss-cross lay using similar materials. Photograph both and consider which gives you the best access to the tinder, the clearest airflow and the most stable structure.

You could also sort your kindling into three sizes and explain the order in which you would use them. This is a useful way to learn how a fire develops from a small flame into a sustainable fire without wasting fuel.

Remember that a fire lay is only one part of the process. Choosing suitable materials, checking the conditions and knowing how to extinguish a fire properly are equally important outdoor skills.

What’s Next?

If you’d like to build on your fire skills, revisit SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 03: Light a Fire with Natural Tinder to practise understanding the materials that help a fire get started. You can also revisit SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 14: Leave a Fire Site Completely Safe to reinforce the importance of extinguishing a fire thoroughly.

For another practical challenge, explore the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenges and keep developing the skills that help you prepare for time outdoors.

Each SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge can be completed in any order, so choose the next skill that interests you and keep practising.

Learn. Practise. Master.

That’s what the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge is all about.