I love my calling. I love serving with incredible friends. I love laughing and giggling. When I am with my sweet leader friends, I do plenty of laughing and giggling. Tonight, we had our camp meeting. One of my counselors shared information on how to make fires. We were instructed step by step on how to create a fire.
EDIBLE CAMPFIRE
1. What are the fire regulations in your area? (find out and discuss with the girls before building any fire)
2. Collect all of your firebuilding supplies before you begin.
(distribute baggie of supplies)
3. Cover or tie back hair, while building or working around fires.
(Girls must supply their own bandana or hair elastic)
4. Open a napkin full and place the three piles for a proper wood pile in order on half of the napkin so that the other half can be folded over the wood pile to keep the wood dry till ready to use. A good camper never has to search for wood after the fire is lit.
a. Tinder is smaller than your pinkie finger. Longer but no thicker than a match. Fine twigs, bundles from tops of bushes and weeds, pieces of pine, thin pieces of bark, dried leaves and grass.
(coco-nut or sunflower seeds)
b. Kindling is larger than your pinkie and no larger than your thumb. Six to twelve inches in length. Should snap when broken.
(potato stix or small pretzel sticks)
c. Fuel is larger than your thumb.
(cheezies, cheese puffs, tootsie rolls, fat pretzels or bread sticks)
5. Get bucket of water and shovel and rake (optional) to keep close to fire for safety. Before you ever start a fire make sure you have the fire fighting equipment on hand.
(cup of water, spoon and fork. You can also use a cup of granola for Sand if you want)
6. Clear the ground in a 6-foot radius. The edge of your plate is the boundry of the safety area. Mark the safety area by outlining the edge of the plate with your finger. This is the zone where no one moves faster than a slow walk. Inside the zone no one should ever be running or playing while a fire is being built or burning. Clear away the grass, twigs and pine needles, from a good-sized area until only dirt remains. This is the base of the fire. Place your cookie in the center of the plate.
(represented by scraping spoon on 6 in plate to make it safe to build a fire. A big round cookie represents dirt. Use as much detail as you feel you need. Discuss safe places to build fires)
7. Create a fire ring to contain fire. Place a ring of rocks around the edge of the dirt area. This will help keep the fire from drifting into nearby grasses.
(tiny marshmallows, Jelly beans, M&M’s, peanuts, corn pops, cereal, raisins, cheerios or large chocolate chips)
8. Now you are ready to lay your fire.
Make an “A” or “V” frame of logs, open end facing the wind.
(break a large pretzel rod into 2 or 3 pieces)
9. Lay tinder in teepee or lean to fashion in the corner of the A or V, remember tinder is smaller than your pinkie finger.
(coco-nut)
10. Add a fire starter to the base of the tinder (Optional if you have enough tinder and kindling). Burns quickly to get fire started.
(hershey kisses, gum drops or small pieces of twizzlers)
11. Light the fire. Of course we are using waterproof matches
(3 inch pieces of rope licorice or full length twizzlers)
Add sparks!
(red hots)
12. When a small fire is started add kindling on top of tinder leaving room for air to flow. Remember kindling is larger than your pinkie and no larger than your thumb.
(potato stix or small pretzel sticks)
13. Watch as the flames build.
(candy corn)
14. Next add fuel on top of kindling. Fuel is larger than your thumb.
(cheezies, cheese puffs, tootsie rolls, or fat pretzel rods)
15. Extinguish fire; let the fire die down.
(eat fire, drink water)
16. Review the method of extinguishing fires:
With dirt
a. let the fire die down
b. separate the burning pieces but keep them within the fire ring
c. pour dirt over coals to smother keep stirring till extinguished
d. continue till you can’t feel heat when you hold hand over coals
With water
a. wet the area around the fire
b. sprinkle water on the fire, do not pour water as you may get burned by steam and immediate hot water
c. spread out coals with a stick
d. sprinkle again and turn over smoldering sticks or coals, sprinkle again
e. continue till only soaking wet ashes remain
f. continue till you can’t feel heat when you hold hand over coals
If you have removed sod to make a fire cover the area with dirt, replace the sod, make it look as if no one has been there.
17. Leave no trace!
(put plate, spoon, cup in trash)
Then…of course there was some of us that chose to eat our fires before building them. Maybe it will be a good idea not to put us in charge of the fires at camp!!
Lots of smiles!
~Michelle
