Campfire

A campfire is a friendly fire that is lit when stored outdoors. It is primarily used to heat the body, the drying clothes, cooking food, the boiling of water, the repelling insects and animals, the signaling of emergency situations as well as the social gathering.

The main forms of the campfire are the Tipifeuer with its variants Survival hunters and fire as a multipurpose fire, the star, mines and tunnel pit fire as a cooking fire and smoke fire as a signal fire for rescue from danger. Among the festival fires include the pile cone, pagodas and stacking fire.

• 3.1 Heat Fire 3.1.1 Tipifeuer
• 3.1.2 Tipifeuer on platform ( Survival Fire )
• 3.1.3 Tipifeuer with wind breaker ( fire fighter )

• 3.2.1 Starfire
• 3.2.2 Tipifeuer with Nebenglut
• 3.2.3 Steingrube Fire ( Imu )
• 3.2.4 cairns fire ( Huatia )
• 3.2.5 pit fire ( soldiers fire)
• 3.2.6 Tunnel fire pit ( Dakota Fire )
• 3.2.7 stick bundle fire ( Stockfackla )
• 3.2.8 gap block fire ( Blockfackla )

• 3.3.1 fire bed
• 3.3.2 trunk gutter fire
• 3.3.3 master batch fire ( Rakovalkea )

• 3.4.1 pile cone fire
• 3.4.2 pagodas fire
• 3.4.3 stack fire

• 3.5.1 Smoke fire

• Ready hold 4.1 detonator and scale
• 4.2 Election of the fireplace
• 4.3 Collecting Firewood
• 4.4 Clean the combustion space
• 4.5 Building a Platform
• 4.7 Igniting the scale
• 4.8 extinguish the fire

Campfire in tent camps

The campfire is in tent camps usually the central rallying point. In the evening you meet each other there for the social gathering to sing songs, play guitar, tell stories and perform theater. Man sitting on floor, on tree trunks or sitting. Usually, one first builds a pyramid of wood or a pile on, that shall burn long. This is ignited with a small Tipifeuer. Blazes the fire neatly on, you feed it as needed with the daytime collected firewood, ready is near. After burning off one pushes the remaining stub together until the embers are extinguished and only ash remains.

Functions of the campfire

Campfire can fulfill different functions. They are used for heating the body, drying of wet clothes, the preparation of food, the preservation of food by smoking, the boil ( sterilize ) of drinking water, the extraction of drinking water by distillation, the repelling insects, the quenching of wild animals, the warming during sleep, the request for help and the social gathering.

After the three properties of fire: heat, light and smoke to fire can be divided into three groups, namely: heat of fire, smoke and fire beacon. The heat fires are multi-purpose, heat, cooking and sleeping fire to the beacons wax and fixed fire and the smoke of fires, the fire rescue.

Multi-purpose fire

Most fires have several tasks, such as heating of the body, drying clothes, lighting of the environment, cooking food, boiling ( sterilize ) water for use as drinking water.

Heat fire

Heat fire are warming the body and drying wet clothes.

Cooking fires

On cooking fires meals are cooked, roasted or grilled or boiled water. In the simplest applications, a piece of meat is cooked on a hot stone or a stick, or simply put a pot on the fire. Meals can be also wrapped in aluminum foil placed directly into the fire. Or will they be buried wrapped and cooked in a herb crust under the fire. For frequent use pots are suspended height adjustable (stock in two forked sticks, tripods with chain ) or placed on a shelf. In the Middle Ages, people used three-legged pots, called Grapen that could put directly into the fire because of its three legs.

Special forms of the cooking fire are earth oven, box oven and grill.

Sleep fire

Sleep fire is used to keep warm the body during the night, especially in the wet and cold.

Watch fires

Watch fires are small fire to keep warm and illuminate the surroundings.

Fixed fire

Fixed fire are great bonfire to celebrate. Among the festival fires in the German-speaking area includes carnival fire, Walpurgisfeuer (April 30 in the Walpurgis Night ), Easter fire ( at the Easter Vigil ) bonfires (June 24, the summer solstice ) bonfires (1 August Swiss National Day ) and Martin Fire (November 11, following the St. Martin's move).

Bonfire

Beacons are intended to give signals. During the day we used smoke signals, at night the bright lights of the fire. Smoke signals generated one by placing wet leaves on the fire. If the fire is now additionally covered at intervals with a tarp, simple signals can be transmitted.

Types of campfire

Heat fire

Tipifeuer

The teepee or pyramid fire consists of a core of scale and highly flammable material to the thin dry twigs and branches tent-shaped, like the poles of a tipi ( hence the name) are set up. The tipiförmige design facilitates the kindling of the fire, since the oxygen well passes through the column and flame to tinder material. A Tipifeuer is constructed shell. Easily flammable fuels (flash substances) such as paper, cardboard and straw in the middle, moderately flammable fuels such as dry twigs and small branches around it. Blazes the fire right on, you can also replace fire-resistant fuels such as thick or wet branches and logs. On one side is allowed to free a small opening for kindling.

Tipifeuer on platform ( Survival Fire )

Hunter fire

Prerequisite for a Tipifeuer is a dry ground, and the fire is initially directly on the floor. To avoid this, one first builds a platform of one layer closely spaced straight branches. This one creates an insulating layer that protects the initial fire before the cold and moisture of the soil. In heavy frost or snow the platform for better insulation of several crosswise stacked layers should exist.

The Tipifeuer on deck is often used to light bonfires other species.

Tipifeuer with wind breaker ( fire fighter )

The Tipifeuer with wind breaker consists of a Tipifeuer to the two thick branches / logs are placed such that they result in a sharp V. The point of the V pointing way in the opposite direction of the wind so that the wind from the thick branches / logs is deflected. On the corner, where the two branches / logs meet, a pot can be set for cooking.

Cooking fires

• Walk-in cooking fire

Starfire

The Starfire is composed of several flattened logs, all star-shaped hit each other at one end in a central point. This point is the focal point of the fire. Is a small Tipifeuer ignited at the focal point, you can place a pan directly on the ends of the logs. Are the ends of a Scheits burned down, pushes it the rest of the Scheits a bit ago in the midst of the fire. In this way, one can control the cooking temperature and time very well. The Starfire is economical in consumption of wood and is also suitable as a wax fire.

Tipifeuer with Nebenglut

When Tipifeuer with Nebenglut a large Tipifeuer is first set on fire. Has then accumulated sufficient embers after a while, you push it to a pile next to the fireplace. In this way, you can cook in the combustion zone of the fire without a burn the flames eating. Because of the keyhole-like shape of round and rectangular hearth pushed together Glutstelle this type of cooking fire is also called keyhole fire ( eng. keyhole fire ).

• cooking fires with Garsteinen

Stone pit fire ( Imu )

In the stone pit fire a large shallow pit is dug in which a large Tipifeuer is ignited. Burn this properly, you are numerous Wacker ( fist-sized stones) into the pit, so that they are heated. Are Wacker hot one conveys them by means of rods out of the pit and pushes them into a pile. In this pile of hot stones is then placed his wrapped in banana leaves or aluminum foil dishes and covers the entire bunch from first with leaves and then with earth. This results in a furnace in which to cook the food. If these do, digging them out of the ground and piles of leaves. Since this method of cooking derived from the Polynesians, called the big pit fire and Polynesian fire. The large pit fire is called Imu or Polynesian Umu, which is cooked dish, usually a whole pig, Kalua.

Cairns fire ( Huatia )

When Cairn fire under a pile of Wackern ( fist-sized stones), which form a kind of oven, a large fire is lit, the heat the boulders. Then you wear the pile partially from and fry meat on the hot stones to. After placing the stones leaves, sets the seared meat and the rest vegetables etc. thereon and covered everything first with leaves and then with earth. The cooking time is about 1 ½ hours. The Cairn fire comes from Peru and is in Quechua Watia (sp. Huatia ) called, therein cooked dish Pachamanca.

• Under Earthy cooking fires

Pit fire ( soldiers fire)

The fire pit is an underground fire. For this purpose, ( a -used for digging stick, which protects the hands) is dug a pit with a folding spade, hand, or a grave floor, where one lighting a Tipifeuer on one platform. The disadvantage of the fire pit is the lack of oxygen supply, as the flames of the fire consume the oxygen in the mine quickly and because of the rising from the pit of hot air can flow only little oxygen into the pit. Therefore, it burns only moderately or not at all in deep, narrow pits.

Pit fire pit and tunnel fires are often used by the military because the open firelight is obscured by the pit.

Tunnel fire pit ( Dakota Fire )

The disadvantage of poor ventilation when using fire pit can be bypassed by digging a second pit right next to the first and connects the two pits with a tunnel. The first pit is used as a fire pit. The second pit is used solely of fresh air. Since this type of fire comes from the Dakota Indians of the North American prairie, it's called tunnel fire pit and Dakota fire.

• About Earthy cooking fires

Stick bundle fire ( Stockfackla )

When you stick bundle fire a greater number of equally long Holzküppel / branches is first collected and tied together at one end with flexible willow branches, spruce roots or cords. This end is placed on the floor. At the upper end of small branches are pushed as wedges between the stick so that the stick is not against one another, but are separated by air gaps. The gaps between the sticks serve the oxygen supply. The upper end of the stick bundle is lit. On this a cooking pot can then be made. The stick is a bundle of fire cooking fires for wet and muddy bottoms or knee-high snow. The fire stick bundle is under the name Swedish Stock Torch ( swe. Svensk Stockfackla closely. Swedish torch stick ), known Sweden Sweden torch or fire.

Gap block fire ( Blockfackla )

When gapping block fire a block of wood with an ax in four billets is first split. This will again put together upright, the distances between all logs each, a sufficient distance is maintained. The gaps between the standing logs are used for oxygen supply. It is important that each piece of wood is clear to on the ground so that the structure remains stable. The gaps between the logs is then filled loosely with dry twigs and lays on top of the scale, the you light. Then you wait until the inside edges of the wood logs are burning properly. If this is the case, one can optionally remove the not yet burnt sticks, which improves the oxygen supply. In the middle of the composite consists of four logs of wood block, a fireplace whose chimney effect improving the Sauerstofzufuhr formed. This fire burns particularly intense in the middle of the block. In the four billets you put on top of it two sticks parallel to each other, on the one then the pot is for cooking. The gap block fire is how the stick bundle fire, a cooking fire for wet and muddy bottoms or knee-high snow. The gap block fire is under the name Swedish block torch ( swe. Svensk Blockfackla closely. Swedish log torch ), known Sweden Sweden torch or fire.

Sleep fire

Fire bed

The so-called fire- bed consists of a burnt-out fire in a fire pit, which is as long as a man. The embers of this fire is covered with earth, so that you can lie down without getting burned. The remaining heat then acts as a large heat bottle. The fire bed is a sofa fire for cool but not too cold nights.

Trunk channel fire

Rakovalkea Master batch fire

The root channel fire two people long logs laid side by side. In the groove between the tree trunks a large fire is then ignited that all night burns, since it is fed by the wood of the tree trunks. The warmth of the fire makes use improves when one still has in addition a heat reflective wall behind it, which re-radiates the heat of the fire on a. The root channel fire is a fire sleep for cold, but frost -free nights.

Master batch fire ( Rakovalkea )

The root stack fire four pillars are carved into the ground, which should keep a stack of two people long tree trunks. Therefore, you should make sure that the posts are also firmly driven into the ground to avoid being hit by a rolling down tree trunk. Between the individual tree trunks branches and twigs are placed, which are set on fire. As the fire from the wood of the tree trunks nourishes, it keeps the whole night. The root stack fire has the advantage that the sleeper can sleep on a thermally insulated from the floor or platform bed. The root stack fire is a sofa fire for chilly nights. It is used by Finns and Sibierern, which is why it is also known as Finnish and Siberian fire. In Finnish it is called Rakovalkea.

Beacon

Pile cone fire

At stake cone fire a large pile is first driven into the ground. Then logs are placed on the pile obliquely in a circle, so that a cone is formed. This process is so long until the taper of logs reaches repeated a sufficient height. Because of the pile driven into the ground, this type of hard fire is very stable. However, there is always the risk that a high up -coated fire tilts to the side and spectators at risk.

Pagodas fire

Stack fire

When pagodas fire two logs spaced crosswise stacked. With increasing stack height, the two pieces of wood back in each layer closer to one another so that a tapered in height tower with a square base is created. This tower reminds approximately at a pagoda, which gave its name to the fire.

Stack fire

When stacking the fire logs are lying closely juxtaposed and stacked crosswise, so that a dense wood pile is formed.

Fire rescue

Smoke fire

A smoke fire is a great Tipifeuer, is placed over the wet leaves, creating a vapor ( evaporating water) and smoke ( burning branches ) arise. Using a ceiling you can collect the smoke and let escape abruptly. An elongated cloud of smoke but Search for aircraft and helicopters as well recognizable. The flue fire is more suitable for the broad daylight, because the smoke is barely visible at night.

Survey

Start a campfire

Ready hold igniter and scale

Igniter materials such as match, lighter or fire steel and tinder, such as Cotton balls, one should constantly carry with you, so you have them ready when needed.

Choice of hearth

The first step in the installation of a fireplace is the choice of the place. The fireplace should be designed so that no fire hazard for the environment by burning, smoldering, smoldering or sparks emanating. Therefore, a fire pit should of trees ( sparks ) on a free cleared of leaf litter surface ( smoldering ) are as far away created. If there is risk of forest fires should be dispensed with the kindling of a fire, as even the smallest spark of sufficient magnitude to constitute a fire.

Collecting firewood

Before lighting a fire, you should gather once sufficient firewood to after the kindling of the fire not to have suddenly looking firewood, so that the fire does not go out. For firewood is standing deadwood most appropriate, since this is the driest wood. Living Green wood contains water, fallen dead wood is usually wet and modernd. If one finds no standing deadwood, take standing green timber. Dry wood can be recognized because it clearly cracks in breaking. If it rains, you should cover his firewood with a tarp ( Tarp ) or with large pieces of bark to keep it dry.

Clean the combustion space

At the location of the fireplace the ground of scattered free in order to prevent possible smoldering fires. In strong winds may dig a pit with a grave Stock or build a shelter.

Building a platform

In damp or cold reason necessarily a platform to build from firewood to protect the fire before soil moisture or cold. In severe frost insulating fire platform may consist of several layers of cross-laminated wood fire. Instead of wood, you can also take pieces of bark. Birch bark is particularly suitable for this because of their essential oils.

On the fire platform is then placed dry twigs, chips and scale. As a natural tinder serve tinder fungus, Machined birch bark, dry grass (hay), straw, dried moss, resinous wood chips ( pine chips ), bulrushes, and seeds of cotton, poplar, thistles and dandelions. As artificial scale used cotton wool, tampons, paper, cardboard, charred cotton fabric. Simple cotton balls of cotton, that you may possibly still rub with petroleum jelly, are cheap and practical.

Igniting the scale

There are several methods to start a fire. The most convenient way is with matches and lighters, with stronger wind storm with gale woods and lighters. The easiest and safest method that works even in extreme humidity and frost, is the lighting with fire and steel knife. These holding man's knife with the cutting edge facing upward to protect the edge of the blade. Then you hold the fire steel from the bottom to the back of the knife and pulls the fire steel resting firmly on the back of a knife to the back, fly up sparks that ignite the tinder. If we take the knife reversed by the fire steel forward, there is a danger that the scale is blown away by the thrown by the blade movement wind. Flickers of the scale, you blow gently until the scale flares. The bubbles leads to the fire oxygen. The scale then ignites the twigs and wood chips to the fire flares up. Blazes the fire, you shall, depending on the wood as required, initially thin, later the thicker pieces.

Extinguish the fire

The fire extinguished one by pouring sand, earth, snow or water on the fire or pouring and thus prevents the oxygen supply. Water and snow also reduce abruptly the temperature of the fire substances below the fire point. Then we checked whether there are any smoldering pieces of wood. This is covered with earth.

Enclosure of the fireplace

In order to prevent the spread of fire, you can do it with stones or a low embankment bordering, though one must stones from rivers and other waters and stones showing a slaty structure avoid, because such stones can shatter in the heat and flying splinters can be dangerous projectiles. Outside of the stone circle combustible materials should be removed.

Should the fire be built on a meadow, turf can be laid aside gouged and reversed. When leaving the campsite can so the fireplace will be re-populated after cooling with the sod so that it is no longer recognizable.

Security

• Campfire not invest in fire-risk environments ( underground, lateral distance, height difference ).
• Do not apply on rocks ( they can jump ).
• Campfire should never be unsupervised.
• At risk of forest fires open fire is prohibited.
• Keep flammable materials ( clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, tents).
• Sparks note (wind gusts).
• When leaving the campsite, the fire must be extinguished and must not contain more glowing parts.

In some countries special laws and regulations apply for open fires.

If a fire be left before it is completely burned, it must be extinguished with water or by covering it with sand. With water quenching is to think of a shattering of stones. The successful deletion must be checked.

Videos for building campfires

The following YouTube videos are all taught in English. However, it does not require any language skills in order to understand them, because everything is clearly shown.

• Ray Mears: How to make a fire ( How to light a fire )
• Woodsman: How to make a fire ( Making a fire in the rain ) in the rain
• Dutchman: Dakota tunnel fire pit ( Dakota Fire Pit )
• Bushcraftmyway: Swedish stick bundle Fire (Swedish Stick Torch )
• Reggie: Swedish gap block fire (Swedish Torch Log )