Fires & Fire Safety

Learning Objectives

As a result of this experience, each participant should be able to:

• Complete advancement requirement S2abcd.
• Earn the Firem’n Chit award.
• Understand the outdoor code as it relates to fire safety.
• Be safe with fire.
• Gather tinder, kindling, and wood.
• Light a fire.

Materials Required

• Firem’n Chit Cards for each participant
• Outdoor code cards for each participant
• Fire starters, tinder, kindling, matches, and wood
• Fire wood usefulness chart (from appendix)
• Examples of Teepee, Lean-to, and crisscross fire lays
• Examples of several different fire starters
• Examples of several different types of wood
• Outdoor Code Poster
• A place to make a fire
• Lightweight stoves and fuel

Discovery

Display for the scouts several different types of fire starters, tinder, kindling, and wood. Display the outdoor code poster behind. Ask scouts if they know the difference between them.

Teaching-Learning

1. What is the outdoor code and what does it mean? Hand out outdoor code cards to each participant.
2. Fires
   1. What are the ways of building a fire?
      1. Teepee
      2. Lean-to
      3. Crisscross
   2. What do you need to make a fire?
      1. Fire Starters
      2. Tinder
      3. Kindling
      4. Wood
         1. Soft wood
         2. Hard wood
   3. Wet weather tips (see Boy Scout Handbook page 391)
      1. Store tinder and kindling for several fires under your dining fly before it rains.
      2. Keep a supply of tinder in a plastic bag
      3. Split wet logs.
      4. Blow gently on damp tinder.
      5. Waterproof your matches.
      6. Use fire starters.
3. Fire Safety
   1. Where can I build a fire?
      1. Existing fire circles.
      2. Gravel pits, sand, or bare soil away from trees.
      3. Clear all burnable materials five feet in all directions from a fire.
      4. Save ground cover so that it can be replaced.
   2. How do I put out a fire?
      1. Splash water onto the embers and stir. Repeat until the fire is cold out.
      2. Without water, work dirt in the fire until it is cold out.
   3. Secure all necessary permits before you build a fire.
4. After the presentation sign and hand out Firem’n chit cards to each participant. Tell them that to keep the card they must live up to their responsibility to keep fires safe.
5. Lighting lightweight stoves (see Boy Scout Handbook (pages 392-393)
   1. What if you can’t build a fire?
   2. Lighting lightweight stoves
      1. Canister fuel
      2. Liquid fuel
   3. Using lightweight stoves
      1. Stability
      2. Movement

Application: Light a Lightweight Stove

Have each boy practice safely lighting and extinguishing both types of lightweight stoves.

Application: Fire Building Contest

Hold a fire building contest. Divide the patrol up into teams of two or three scouts. Break down the example fire lays and assign each team a different one. Line the scouts up across from the materials and at the signal each team must build its fire lay. If you can, allow the scouts to actually light the fires as a part of the contest.