DIY: Start a fire

By Adam Schoof

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Fire was discovered by cavemen, but modern man has largely forgotten how to create it.

Briese Anderson, Lawrence junior, is a fire expert: He’s an Eagle Scout and works summers at a wilderness survival camp.

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Photo by Adam Schoof

Man make fire: You can make a fire almost like the cavemen did with string, wood, twigs and branches.

To make a fire without matches or flint and steel, Anderson suggests a bow drill.

The basic fire structure has three parts: tinder, kindling and fuel. Tinder is the fibrous materials, kindling is smalls sticks and fuel is large branches. Place each of the parts in the order mentioned.

First, you need to find string for the bow. If you have shoelaces, then use them; if not, then find a fibrous plant such as milkweed and make a rope out of it. Tie the string loosely to a bow-shaped stick.

Next you find a thumb-thick branch that’s six inches long, sharpen both ends and twist it into the bow. This will make the spindle, which will create the friction that will start the fire.

Find a small piece of wood that will fit in your hand and carve a notch into it. This will go atop the spindle. Also, find a long, wide piece of wood half an inch thick and carve a notch into it as well. This piece is called the “fireboard,” which is where the fire will start.

Place the small piece of wood on the top of the spindle, and put the spindle into the notch on the fireboard. Place your left foot on the fireboard, with your right knee kneeling. Start the bowing action slowly and increase as smoke starts to build. The spindle will create dust that will ignite, so you should have some fibrous materials, or kindling, with the consistency of hair ready to light. When lit, blow into the kindling to get a large flame. Once you have a flame, you take it to your pre-built fire structure.

The best type of fire structure is the “teepee” because it sheds water and burns fast, Anderson says. For this structure, you lean wrist-thick pieces of wood together in a cone shape. The structure will eventually collapse, Anderson says, and you will have a nice bed of coals to cook on.

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