A Prepper's Guide To Fire

Included in our Beginners Guide to Prepping in the UK and in countless other blogs we have stressed the importance of fire whenever you are in a survival situation or any other emergency when your access to everyday comforts and conveniences is compromised.

In some climates, of course, a fire will be essential for keeping you and your group warm, as well as providing the heat you need for cooking food and for boiling water you have collected from streams or ponds. (Boiling kills germs but won’t remove chemical pollution, so choose your source carefully – see our guide to purifying water.)

In addition to meeting these immediate survival demands, though, a fire may also act as psychological reassurance and comfort that helps maintain the integrity and cohesion of your social group. A fire can also be used as a beacon to send distress messages and to summon help.

There’s little doubt that fire is going to be important in any emergency or survival situation. In fact, a blog on the Bushgear website on the 28^th of February 2022 insisted that fire is the most essential tool for anyone looking to survive outdoors. For keeping you alive, fire beats any knife, torch, tent, or sleeping bag hands down.

While that’s all fine and dandy, it’s not a lot of help unless you know how to start a fire – and, just as importantly, how to stop it or put one out.

Starting a fire

You’ve probably seen it demonstrated in survival programmes on the TV and you’ll know that Boy Scouts are alleged to have done it for years but rubbing two sticks together is rarely the easiest or most successful way of starting a fire. It can be done, of course, but in an emergency situation, you’ll probably need to light your fire more quickly than that and there will be a hundred and one other things to do.

Remembering that a prepper is always prepared, there are lots of ways you can make starting that potentially life-saving fire at will. That same Bushgear blog on the 28^th of February 2022 suggested no fewer than 33 ways of lighting your emergency survival fire – all it takes is just a little forethought and preparation.

The many fire lighting tricks included the classic wad of cotton wool rubbed with Vaseline that can be stored in a watertight container until needed and set alight with a spark or match.

Dual-purpose materials are highly desirable to preppers and an ideal two for the price of one are rubber bands you can make from cutting up an old bicycle inner tube. The rubber bands are great for holding smaller bits of kit together in a bundle but also make good fire starters with a single band burning for around 30 seconds to a minute – though be careful of the acrid, toxic smoke it produces when alight, and keep well away from it.

Other fire lighting kits are sold on Amazon UK and may include just those flints, steels, lighters, and tinder that you are likely to need and will stow easily and compactly into your immediate, emergency bugout bag.

Stopping a fire

It’s not just a question of good housekeeping and cleaning up after yourself because putting out a fire can prove as critical for your safety as having started it in the first place.

Failing to stop the fire you’ve started can leave it to get out of hand, run wild, and circle back to give you yet another emergency you have to deal with – the last thing you’ll want if you’re already facing the many challenges left in the wake of a manmade or natural disaster.

Managing fire – whether starting one or stopping it – is about understanding fire, what helps it to spread, and what fuels it. Keep an eye on the weather, therefore, because fire can spread unexpectedly fast as the wind picks up – and, with it, the danger that sparks are blown towards and set fire to other nearby kindling. The precise location of the fire will also be relevant to its safe management.

Leave yourself plenty of time to put out your fire completely before breaking camp. That means letting the flames die down and refraining from adding more fuel to the burning embers.

As the Mossy Oak website advises, spread out the embers to allow those that are well alight to finish burning and prevent fuel that has not yet caught from reigniting.

The safest way to put a fire out is to drown it with water, stir the ashes and embers, then drown it again – keep going until everything is cold to the touch. If water is scarce, smother the fire thoroughly with plenty of dirt or sand and stir it in, but be aware that buried embers can smoulder for hours and reignite or burn anyone who steps on them, so check carefully before you leave.

After dousing or smothering the embers give them a good stir to check whether any are still alight or burning hot – if so, douse or smother these once again.

Before you leave camp, check that the fire is completely out, that the embers are cold, and if necessary, give the fire a final dousing or smothering of dirt – just to be on the safe side.

And remember: in the UK you need the landowner’s permission to light a fire, and wildfires are a serious risk in dry weather – see our guide to the five laws on bonfires, wild camping, foraging and other survivalist activities.

About The Author

Article by the Prepper Weekly editor. Prepper Weekly covers practical, UK-focused preparedness – from emergency planning, power cuts and flooding to food, water, kit and outdoor skills – without the fear-mongering. Find out more about Prepper Weekly.