We all know what fire is and we have all had some experiences with fire in our lives. The discovery of fire dates back before any record of history. Presumably the early development of man, prehistoric times or caveman days, if you'd like. Fire can occur naturally in nature when heat causes a material to combust or it can be man made such as rubbing to sticks together, causing combustion from friction. Your experiences with fire may be positive, such as, keeping a wood stove hot during the winter months, roasting marshmallows while camping or Mom's cooking in the kitchen. Or they can be negative, such as a structure fire or threatening wildfires that can cause damage to personal items and people.
When we talk about fire from a survival stance, we are thinking about using fire as a tool for survival. Fire has many uses in survival scenarios. Fire can be used to decontaminate water through boiling, it can be used to heat up food, reducing harmful bacteria and bringing out flavor, it can be used as heat to prevent hypothermia or light to see in the dark, fire can be used to signal in an emergency by using smoke, it can be used to forge tools, protect you from people, animals and insects and to dry your clothes.
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| The BIC Lighter |
You can see by the many uses of fire why having a way to make fire in an emergency can be very useful. Naturally, following the rule of two is one and one is none, you will want to have multiple ways to make fire in an emergency. One way to make fire is by rubbing two sticks together. Anybody who has tried this before can tell you it is not as easy as it looks, but you can learn from others who have experience starting fire this way and then practice it yourself. We have come a long way from the rubbing of sticks method, however. These days most people using fire simply flick a metal wheel and out from their lighter comes a shooting flame. Lighters are simple and simply amazing if you really think about it. Having that kind of tool at our disposal is one thing that keeps mankind at the top of the food chain. Of course, in an emergency you had better make sure you have one.
The lighter is my number one recommendation as a fire starting survival tool. They are small, easy to carry and relatively reliable. The only draw back being they can run out of fuel or possibly break. Buy a dozen and put one in the car, a drawer at home, your Bug Out Bag, your camping gear, and of course one in your pocket at all times. See Everyday carry. It's funny to think that all this time smokers were some of the most prepared for emergencies just because they carried a lighter on them all the time.
Of course, one can not simply rely on one form of fire starting, so here are a few more for consideration. The ol flint and steel. This is another tool that takes a bit of practice to master. Basically, you create a spark that ignites some tinder and then cultivate it until you can spread a small flame to a larger fuel source. Some fire starts like this require you to shave off small shavings of magnesium, then use the sparking technique to start the fire. Many people like the the Zippo brand lighter, however this does require that you have wicks, flints and fuel to keep it running smoothly. The long plastic kitchen style lighters are great for starting a fire while being able to keep your distance. Matches are an old trusted source of fire, they make long matches, strike anywhere matches and even waterproof matches, which is what I would recommend as a great back up fire start.
One aspect of fire that is important to keep in mind is that and fire requires fuel to keep burning. So you will most likely need wood or some kind of combustible liquid, gas, propane etc. to keep your fire burning. Also, when starting a fire by spark, you may find it easier to already have some sort of tinder other than dry twigs and leaves. Pocket lint and dryer lint can be great tinder, some people use cotton balls soaked in Vaseline as tinder. You can store the cotton balls in an old film canister or waterproof pill container. Next time you take your clothes out of the dryer instead of throwing away that big ball of pink coloured lint, save it and store it in a small container, then put it in your BOB. Be resourceful and you will think of more.
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