My wife, Liz, is game. She joined the class back when I assisted in teaching at Green Earth Survival School (GESS), and found how empowering it is to be able to start a fire without matches or lighters.

For the last two Saturdays, my family did a short overnight camp at Phipps Park, long enough to set up tents, start a fire, cook dinner, sleep, start another fire, cook breakfast, and go home. Our fist night, Liz grabbed my magnesium fire starter, and went to town, making shavings, striking sparks and sweating, only to find its not as easy as it can look when done by someone with experience.

Personally, I have several acres of burnt hillside behind me to prove I can start a fire, but can I when it counts? Let’s hope I don’t find out like in “To Build A Fire” by Jack London“. So I practice whenever I can. And practice more. And carry multiple methods. Every pack I have contains a lighter of some sort, and typically a magnesium fire starter and hand sanitizer (alcohol based, so it burns well). Even my keychain has a firesteel that I’ve carried for over twenty years!

But these are all technological crutches. I once saw a video of Ray Mears walking into a forest empty-handed. He scrounged around for a rock made of flint, made an edged blade from it, then used more of the flint to build a fire. By the end, he had a “knife”, a fire, and a shelter, using his hands and his brain. How many of us can do something similar today?

I understand the probability of NEEDING to do so is unlikely, but then we have no problem putting on a seatbelt when we drive, buying flood insurance for our homes, or buying a generator before a hurricane. I firmly believe that SKILLS are an additional level of security for our lives. To me, the ability to build a fire is a priority.

Anyone who has watched CBS’s show Survivor knows that “fire means life”, and the tribes struggle and grow weaker and weaker until they can make fire. In fact, the show pushes the “fire means life” so much that a fire building competition determines any tied vote issues – the ability to build a fire is the first and last thing that counts in the show.

But then how “real” is reality TV? The fire building requirement is a strong argument, and probably why they push the skill so much. Fire not only allows provides light and heat, it allows you to make water safe to drink, food safe to eat, it can be used to cleanse wounds, shape tools and weapons, signal for help, and keep threats away. Fire is important.

But the one thing most folks forget is the psychological aspect of fire – it proves to you that you have some control over your environment. The mental aspect of fire is probably a stronger reason than any of the others to learn methods to build a fire.

The GESS survival course teaches “PMA”, or Positive Mental Attitude, one of the most important things in an emergency situation. Nothing lifts a spirit like a warm cheery fire, even if its only on a Friday night in the back yard with some friends and some beers. I have never met a person that doesn’t stare into a fire, watching the flames, and feels something primeval, even if they don’t know what or why they are feeling it.

So be sure to put “learn to build a fire, primitive methods” on your bucket list. Some day, you may get the chance to REALLY impress Jeff Probst. (Click here for a Ray Mears Video of fire building basics)

So as I step off of my “Learn to Build a Fire” soapbox, let me show you my next method to try, and hopefully master, the bamboo fire saw. There is quite a bit of bamboo that grows around south Florida, so I may as well learn to utilize it. Please note that the man in the video does this for a living, and HE was winded when he was done. Still very impressive!

I’ll be trying this and will get back to you with my results.

Hank, the instructor over at Green Earth Survival School teaches several methods, my favorite for Florida being the magnifying glass. Give Hank a call, tell him you want to learn to build a fire, and tell him DB sent you. Master one method, and you WILL carry yourself a little differently, knowing you CAN master your environment in a pinch.

Be warned though – if you take that first step and master one method, you will never stop learning other methods. It’s worse than Lay’s potato chips, just one isn’t enough (which, btw, make great fire starters, as they burn well due to the oil content).

DB