Winter means camp fires

With winter upon us, as well as the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and long weekends and school holidays approaching, many of us are probably thinking – Camp Fires with friends, cooking and drinks.

We all love a good fire – but let’s keep it safe

While that’s all well and good, there are perhaps some safety issues to consider when it comes to fires of any kind.

Getting ready for the camp fire

It’s one thing to light a fire, but there’s a couple of things to consider before we get it under way.

The area around the fire will need to be cleared of all flammable fuel. This may well include green grass as well as it too can smoulder and spread further to other fuel sources. Naturally, leaf litter and sticks etc need to be pushed well out of the camp fire’s reach. Depending on the winds and the level of surrounding hazards, this distance may be up to a couple of metres.

A pit is often a good thing to dig as it allows the fire to be contained in some way and the dirt that you dig out can be used as a bund to deflect the wind or even as a heat shield to reflect the heat. Did you bring a spade?

Some recommend placing rocks around the fire. I resist this to some degree just in case the rocks have some faults, cracks or fissures in them that cause them to explode during your fire. It may not happen, but this is what rocks do.

You should also study the direction of the wind (and perhaps any forecast changes), but as any seasoned camper will tell you – the wind will always blow to you when you’re comfortably seated and happy with your place at the fire.

With the wind in mind, have a think about where you erected your swags, tents or annexes etc as falling hot ash can burn holes in them, or worse still, set them alight.

Another aspect of preparing for a fire that you might like to pay some attention at the very beginning is how you’re going to manage the fire and how you are going to extinguish it once finished. Do you have water? Do you have a fire rake or shovel? Do you have a fire extinguisher?

It is a little late to fill a bucket or untie a spade from the roof of the car once a fire starts to get out of hand.

You can even put some of the dirt that you dug out for the fire pit to one side and use it too to stifle any spread before it gets out of hand.

Not so much a safety thing, but now is also a good time to collect some fire wood and set it to one side for use during the night – to save wandering about in the dark with the wobbly-boots on.

You might also want to be sure that everyone knows where the fire pile is, so that they don’t trip over it during the night.

Lighting the camp fire

A good form of ignition is to light one or two fire lighters under some paper or small sticks / twigs etc. There’s no embarrassment in using fire lighters – after all, why bugger around throwing one match after another and blowing at the fire. Besides, if you’re good, you can slip the ol’ fire starter in before anyone notices or while they’re off collecting fire wood at your request.

That’s the sort of stuff that Camp Heroes are good at.

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Please don’t be tempted to use fuel such as petrol or methylated spirits etc to get the fire started. These sorts of liquids operate at a very different level to what’s safe – did you know that petrol vapours lie low on the ground and can travel long distances. I can’t say too much more than this other than – DON’T DO IT. Stick to simple fire starters.

Same thing goes with cigarette lighters. For the cost and design that goes in to them, I don’t trust having such a potentially explosive device in my hand that close to a fire.

As we have all been told – Don’t let kids play with matches! So, be careful where you put them and where you keep them. If the kids are watching, take time to explain what you’re doing and why, and how important it is that they don’t do it (unless supervised if that’s your choice).

Let’s go shopping

The camp fire is burning

So, you’ve got the camp fire going…

Be careful of hot coals that aren’t glowing – they’re still hot.

Be careful stepping and standing around the fire – a trip or a bump could end badly.

Don’t wave burning sticks around – the coals can drop or people could be close by.

Don’t let the fire get too big – but what’s ‘too big’? Well… I guess a fire gets too big if you can’t extinguish it or bring it down in size in a hurry if things go wrong.

Have your spade ready and handy – and be sure everyone knows where it is.

Consider having a bucket of water handy.

Enjoy and be safe.

The Cooking fire

Just as you don’t cook in the oven at home at the highest temperatures, think about cooking on the coals alongside the fire – or perhaps on a separate fire to-one-side of the main fire.

Your cooking fire may be separate to the main fire.

Be careful leaning over the fire to reach that pot or pan.

Watch your balance as you bend down or stand up.

NEVER put unopened cans (like baked beans) on, or in, the fire. They will explode. And if they don’t explode while on the fire, opening them while the contents are under pressure will cause the to burst onto you and your face as the ring pull opens towards you.

Something I do is to keep waste water from cooking or washing up in a separate bucket as the day and night progress. This water will be used later to extinguish the fire.

Once again, enjoy your meal and keep safe.

Extinguishing the Camp Fire

When it’s time for bed or perhaps breaking camp the next day, putting the fire out shouldn’t be the last thing you think about.

As mentioned above, keep your waste water to one side and not emptying it on the ground as you go. You can use this to extinguish the fire.

Carry enough water to have some in reserve to pour on the fire when finished. This is perhaps another good reason to camp by a creek, river or lake.

Pour enough water on the fire so that the fire no longer hisses. If it’s still hot – add more water.

Scrape coal of logs and branches with a spade and make sure these are also soaked.

Some books and websites will tell you that, if you run out of available water, you should throw sand into the fire and mix this through until the fire is snuffed out. This is a hard one, as you still need to add water to cool the fire.

It is important here to not that I said ‘into’ the fire. Do not shovel a mound of sand on to of the fire. This will NOT cool the fire and will instead create an oven effect that will keep the coals hot for many hours. The danger here is that stock and people can walk or play in, or fall onto, this hot bed and get very burnt, very badly and very quickly.

To add to what I’ve said above, when you pull into a campsite, don’t let the kids run off and play in that great looking pile of sand that they’ve just spotted – it could be an old fire pit. Not everyone puts their fires out as well as you do.

If you are in any doubt that the fire is not out – stay with it until you are. We’ve all seen the damage in lives, stock, wildlife and infrastructure that bushfires can cause.

At the end of the day, fires are great and are to be encouraged – just be careful and please be responsible.

Oh, and have fun.

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