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Description

Learning to light fires but also how to then sit and enjoy them.

Resources

We'll be lighting small fires to sit around for about 10 minutes. So mostly "large kindling" rather than the bigger logs you'd use for a camp fire.

Bucket or Jerry of water
Tiny Kindling
Small Kindling (lots of this!)
Fire Wood (already cut/ready to be put on the fire)
Matches
Long Lighter (especially if you have people with poor dexterity)
Song books
Chairs/seats/benches
Cold packs (if there's no access to running water for first aid)

Optional: Shovel (for moving their small fires or combining them into a big fire)

Instructions

5 minute intro:

Gather the group around the leader.
Ask why we have camp fires?
- To relax around
- To sit around and chat to each other
- To cook on
- To sing songs by
- To see and be warmed by

Ask about/explain the fire triangle (Heat, fuel, oxygen)
Explain that thin bits of wood burn more easily than thick bits, so when starting a fire we have to work from smaller to bigger.
We need to be patient, the fire will spread only as fast as we allow it to (balancing the triangle).
Remind them to be careful not not over-feed the fire! We don't waste to run out of wood too quickly or waste it (or suffocate it!)

Demonstrate a couple of methods for fire building, there's no best or right/wrong way - it's mostly personal preference.
- Tipi
- Jenga Tower

15 minute lighting:

Split into 2s or 3s to light a fire.
Leader to supervise the groups building their fire structure.
Leader to fully supervise lighting the fire, and extra supervision once it's lit.
Once the fires are lit, encourage the Cubs to leave the fire be and designate soeone (A sixer, for example) to be the leader of the fire. The fire leaders job is to:
- Encourage conversation (ask what people have done that week, if people have holidays coming up, what they want to do at Cubs coming up...)
- Lead songs! Get the song books out

5 Minute Clearup:
Relax until the time runs out, then depending on what you're doing next put the fire out (teaching the cubs how and why) or use a shovel to put their little fires into one bigger one.

Tags

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Badge Links

• Fire Safety - Campfire