The simple way to teach your child how to light a fire part 3

Part 3 Using a fire extender

Fire extenders are great when children are learning how to light a fire because they buy you a little bit of time. They extend the fire by growing the flame but slow down the process of burning. Vaseline is an example of this but for the purposes of teaching children, I think keep it simple and stick to natural materials. I am going to use the example of dry silver birch. 

This is the third in a series of blogs helping parents to teach their children how to light a fire safely so that they can enjoy all the amazing benefits that firelighting brings.  

• I thought parents might need:
• A set format to follow
• A few tips on staying safe
• Some help with what to prepare

I am going to give you 6 steps to follow to help you support your child in using a fire extender (dry silver birch bark) to begin to build a small fire.

It is important that you follow the order of steps for firelighting so start with creating a spark  then lighting a piece of cotton wool 

Science bit

To create a fire you need the presence of three things:

HEAT

FUEL

OXYGEN

If you are ever confused about why your fire isn’t going as well as you had hoped then ask yourself which one of these three things may be missing.

It is called the fire triangle.

Using a fire extender is the fuel bit of the fire triangle. 

Flint and steel = spark (produces heat)

Cotton Woolf = flame (using fuel)

Dry silver birch = extends the flame (using fuel)

Here are my 6 steps:

1. What you will need

• cotton wool pad or ball
• Flint and steel
• 4 sticks to create a fire area
• A metal bowl (optional if the ground is not suitable to fire light on)
• Emergency water
• A still dry day (No wind or rain)
• A piece of dry silver birch.

2. How to prepare silver birch

You can forage (find) for it in most British woodlands

• It has a remarkable white/silver trunk
• Tall and thin
• Peel the bark off (may already be peeling)
• This does the tree a favour. It keeps it healthy.
• Dry it at home indoors. 
• Use a small piece at a time (it’s precious) 5cm ish
• It is important that it is dry.
• I store my dry silver birch in a metal tin.

3. Create a spark with a flint and steel 

4.  Create a flame with cotton wool 

5.  Add fire extender

Feeding the fire (this means to add to the fire) from the side with the dry silver birch bark. It is really important to feed a fire from the side so you don’t burn your hands. The heat from the top of the fire is very hot. Alternatively, place the dry silver birch bark on the cotton wool stack to start with and it will catch on from the cotton wool. This is an easier method but runs the risk of the flame being smothered if there is too much fuel on which can lead to not enough oxygen getting through.

You’ve probably got enough of a fire to toast a marshmallow if you are quick.

6. What next? 

Allow the fire to burn out and extinguish safely and leave no trace of the fire if this is appropriate or continue to build your fire with more fuel. This is step 4, which I will be sharing with you next week. 

In this step I will be giving you some tips to build and maintain your fire, ready to start cooking on it if you wish.

I hope you have found this useful.

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Have a great weekend. Have fun with your new fire lighting skills.

Sally