Survival Fire Building

Following up on today's earlier Tweet , how would you start a fire in a survival situation were you to be given only a log, a pocketknife, a flint & steel, and a sharp rock?

1. AREA: Use your hands, feet, and the rock to dig / scrape a shallow fire pit when possible. If the ground is too hard to dig, clear all brush at least 6 feet around the site of your fire. If possible, gather some dry pine needles & leaves to serve as tinder.
2. KINDLING: trip the bark from one side of the log... this becomes your kindling
3. TINDER: If you were not able to gather pine needles, dry leaves, or some small dry twigs, you  need to make some fuzz sticks...
   Using your knife or rock, separate a few lengths of wood from the log, no bigger around than your little finger. Break these sticks into 6-8 inch lengths. Using the pocketknife, whittle these so that the shavings curl outward, but do not separate from the stick. These "Fuzz Sticks" will more easily catch fire than will straight twigs or shavings.
4. BUILD: Arrange your bark in a loose pattern in the bed of your fire pit. Your fuzz sticks should be interspersed throughout, standing vertically.
5. IGNITE: Placing your flint at a shallow angle near the edge of your tinder, strike downward repeatedly with the steel, done rapidly, and at the correct angle, sparks will fly into the tinder igniting it, which will then ignite your kindling.
6. STOKE: Add the log to the top of the now-burning kindling.
7. MAINTAIN: If windy, you may be able to use your rock, or other rocks found in the area as a wind break.
8. UTILIZE: Warm up, cook, whatever you need to do.
9. EXTINGUISH: Make sure your fire is out & cold before leaving the area.

RESOURCES:
Here's a page on Boy Scout fire building, that shows many different fire types.


MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER!!! Pack some of the items below in your Bug Out Bag, and in each of your vehicles..