Chapter 4 · Basic skills · 6 min read
Fire: lighting it, controlling it, and not dying from it
Fire gives heat, boils water, cooks, dries clothes, scares off animals, works as a signal, and lifts morale. It also burns down homes, starts wildfires, and, in an enclosed space, kills silently with carbon monoxide. In a house or apartment, the rule is simple: use fire outdoors, away from the building, and only where it is allowed.
The essentials · if you only have a minute
- Fire needs three things: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Remove one and it goes out.
- Prepare everything before lighting: tinder, kindling, and fuel, in enough quantity to keep it going.
- Carry at least three ways to start a fire (lighter, waterproof matches, ferrocerium rod).
- Never use grills, camp stoves, charcoal, generators, or a gas oven to heat or cook inside the house, garage, or tent.
- Generator: always outdoors, 20 feet (6 m) or more from doors, windows, and vents.
- Respect your county's burn bans: they are common in many areas and fines can be steep.
- Put it out with water, stir, and soak again until the ashes are cold to the touch.
In this chapter
4.1The fire triangle1 min read4.2The three materials1 min read0/44.3Choose and prepare the site1 min read4.4Types of campfires1 min read4.5Ways to light a fire1 min read4.6Fire in rain or humidity1 min read4.7Safety and control1 min read0/54.8Carbon monoxide: the invisible danger1 min read4.9Common mistakes1 min read0/6
Chapter sources (1)
- 1.FM 21-76 Survival, cap. 7 (Firecraft) — Departamento del Ejército de EE.UU. 2.Avoiding Carbon Monoxide Poisoning — CDC — https://www.cdc.gov/natural-disasters/psa-toolkit/avoiding-carbon-monoxide- poisoning.html 3.Carbon Monoxide Poisoning — Ready.gov — https://www.ready.gov/carbon-monoxide-poisoning 4.Order Restricting Outdoor Burning, Bexar County (nov. 2025) — Bexar County Commissioners Court — https://www.bexar.org/ DocumentCenter/View/50115/Bexar-County-Burn-Ban-Order-Nov-2025 5.Texas Burn Bans — Texas A&M Forest Service — https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/ 6.Local Government Code §352.081 — Estado de Texas — https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/ 7.Campfire Safety — U.S. Forest Service / Smokey Bear — https://smokeybear.com/en/prevention-how-tos/campfire-safety/how-to-build- your-campfire 8.Red Flag Warnings — NOAA / National Weather Service — https://www.weather.gov/ 9.San Antonio Fire Department — https://www.sanantonio.gov/SAFD
