Five Minute Fire

Add to your survival skills by learning how to create a sustainable fire.

By Dave Canterbury And Jason A. Hunt
Published on July 14, 2020
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A fire can be key to your survival.
A fire can be key to your survival.
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An illustration of kindling over a bird's nest.
An illustration of kindling over a bird's nest.
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“Bushcraft First Aid” by Dave Canterbury and Jason A. Hunt provides first-aid and survival tips necessary for any outdoorsperson.
“Bushcraft First Aid” by Dave Canterbury and Jason A. Hunt provides first-aid and survival tips necessary for any outdoorsperson.

Fire can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency situation. Weather conditions will affect fire-making, and being able to produce a sustainable fire with marginal materials in a variety of weather conditions is an important skill.

The Sure-Fire Fire Starter

We recommend that you carry a “sure-fire” fire-starting product such as Mini Inferno or Micro Inferno. Natural sure-fire tinders include pine-resin-laden fatwoods and birch barks. Even if they’re wet, these kinds of tinders will burn and help you get a fire going, even if some of the firewood and kindling is damp.

We also recommend that you carry several methods of sparking a fire. The traditional cigarette lighter will fail in extremely cold or wet and windy conditions, but a ferrocerium rod, which is made of various mischmetals (an alloy of rare earth metals) and magnesium, will provide thousands of strikes in any weather condition with a shower of sparks as hot as 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Your objective for WFA and survival purposes is to be able to create a sustainable fire in five minutes or less. A sustainable fire is a fire that is burning fuel of at least 1″ in diameter, which means you can walk away for a moment and not fear the fire suddenly going out. There are many reasons you want to be able to make a fire within five minutes, but the most common is for hypothermia prevention. The longer it takes to make the fire in hypothermic conditions, the harder it will be to make, as your body will begin to shut down. That also means potentially crucial time will be lost before you can rewarm frostbitten extremities and drink water, which may need to be boiled first.

Tinder Selection

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