Learn practical fire-lighting skills, including preparing tinder and kindling, building a suitable fire and safely getting an outdoor fire established.
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 1–2 hoursLocation: Suitable campfire or outdoor cooking areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Fire lighting, camp cooking, food preparation, fire safety, teamwork Ember cooking is the process of cooking food over the steady heat produced by hot, glowing embers rather than directly…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 30–45 minutesLocation: Suitable outdoor woodcraft or fire-lighting areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Knife skills, woodcraft, fire lighting, preparation, concentration A feather stick is a piece of dry wood with thin curls of wood shaved from the surface while remaining attached to…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 30–45 minutesLocation: Outdoors or indoors for preparation; fire-lighting area for testingBest for: Cubs, Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Fire lighting, woodcraft, material selection, preparation, observation A tinder bundle is a loose collection of dry, easily ignited material used to turn a spark or…
Activity Overview Difficulty: AdvancedTime: 45–60 minutesLocation: Indoors for demonstration or a suitable outdoor activity areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Fire-lighting principles, air compression, observation, experimentation, fire safety A fire piston produces heat by rapidly compressing air inside a small cylinder. The compression causes the air…
Activity Overview Difficulty: AdvancedTime: 60–90 minutesLocation: Suitable outdoor fire-lighting areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Friction fire lighting, woodcraft, fire safety, patience, observation, problem-solving A bow drill creates an ember through friction between a rotating wooden spindle and a fireboard. A bow provides the movement, while…
Activity Overview Difficulty: ModerateTime: 30–45 minutesLocation: Scout campsites and suitable outdoor areasBest for: Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and experienced Cubs under close supervisionSkills: Fire lighting, solar energy, tinder preparation, observation, patience and fire safety A magnifying glass can concentrate sunlight onto a small area of…
Activity Overview Difficulty: ModerateTime: 30–45 minutesLocation: Scout campsites and suitable outdoor fire areasBest for: Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and experienced Cubs under close supervisionSkills: Fire lighting, flint-and-steel technique, tinder preparation, fire safety and campcraft Flint-and-steel fire lighting works by striking hardened steel against a suitable…
Activity Overview Difficulty: Easy–ModerateTime: 15–20 minutesLocation: Scout campsites and suitable outdoor activity areasBest for: Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and adult leadersSkills: Fire safety, ferrocerium rod handling, spark control, situational awareness and campcraft A ferrocerium rod is generally straightforward to use, but it produces very…
Activity Overview Difficulty: ModerateTime: 20–30 minutesLocation: Scout campsites and suitable outdoor fire areasBest for: Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and adult leadersSkills: Fire lighting, ferrocerium rod use, tinder preparation, fire safety and campcraft A ferrocerium rod, often called a ferro rod or fire steel, produces…
Activity Overview Difficulty: ModerateTime: 20–30 minutesLocation: Scout campsites and suitable outdoor fire areasBest for: Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and adult leadersSkills: Fire lighting, fire safety, preparation, observation and campcraft Lighting a fire with matches is a basic campcraft skill, but the preparation of the…
⚠️ SAFETY FIRST Fire activities should only take place with appropriate adult supervision, suitable facilities, permission and a completed risk assessment. Follow your organisation’s current fire-safety guidance and any restrictions applying to the site. Keep suitable extinguishing equipment immediately available and never leave a fire…
⚠️ SAFETY FIRST Never assume a campfire is completely extinguished just because you can’t see flames. Hot embers can remain hidden underneath ash and can sometimes reignite. If you’re finished with the fire, extinguish it properly rather than simply leaving it to go out. Only…
