TWMM: How to Build a Fire Anywhere (Traditional Wilderness Midwifery and Medicine)

In the event that you need to keep warm, cook, and need light, you can do one of the oldest practices on earth: Build a Fire.

Traditional Wilderness Midwifery and Medicine

Anshin B. Kelly, Traditional Midwife and Wilderness Medicine Practitioner 

Copyright ©️ Anshin B. Kelly, Intuitive Health Midwifery, All Rights Reserved.

How to Build a Fire Anywhere

In the event that you need to keep warm, cook, and need light, you can do one of the oldest practices on earth: Build a Fire.

STEP ONE:

You need to create a "fireplace" of some sort, of course, if you do not have one. This requires clearing a spot that is safe, dry and manageable:

• You need a way to put out the fire speedily: Buckets of water, plenty of dirt and/or sand. In the event that you need to put out the fire: Pour the water, dirt, or sand on the fire until it is completely out, and you see no smoke. Stay until the entire fireplace is cooled especially if you are leaving the place. 

• The surface on which you build the fire needs to be completely fire resistant: Dirt, rock, cement, iron, brick, are just a few of the surfaces that will be safe to build a fire. 

• It is extremely important to make sure that the area around your fire is clear of anything that could catch fire.

• Build a ring for your fire: Use rocks, cement blocks, bricks, a circular metal sheet; and/or dig a shallow circular pit in the sand or dirt.

STEP TWO:

You will need: Smaller dry sticks or "kindling," and larger dry sticks and logs. If you have cardboard, and/or paper, this is also very useful. Make sure they are dry, or else you will get a smokey, aggravating, cold fireplace.

NOTE: If you do not have logs, you'll need to feed the fire constantly with kindling and/or paper/cardboard.

• Now that you've prepared your circle/fire pit/place, you will begin building your fire: First rip up/crumple paper/cardboard and lay a good amount in the fire circle. You can also use dry pinecones, pine needles, and dry leaves in addition. Add many dry twigs. Second Create a "tipi" formation with larger sticks over the paper/kindling mound. Then place a smaller dry log on the kindling and sticks. You will be adding to the fire as it burns.

• To light the fire: Matches, a lighter, a propane stove (light pieces of paper or sticks with it, and light the fire).

• Call on the Spirit of Hope, Inspiration, and have confidence. Whether you believe it or not, fires respond heavily to our inner state, mind/emotion. 

• Light the fire in a few places in the paper/kindling layer of the fire.

STEP THREE:

Now you will need to tend to the fire. 

• Blow on the flame to make it grow and spread, if you have bellows or a fan on you, be careful, but fan the flame for the same effect.

• To help the fire catch, and remain steady, feed it with dry kindling, pinecones, pine needles, steadily. The look, heat and feel of the fire will tell you if you've got a strong, steady, useful fire.

• When the logs in the fire are pretty much burnt up, put another log on the fire. 

• NEVER leave the fire unattended.