Royal Army College

Lesson Overview

Fire is among the most valuable things a soldier can have in a survival situation, because it serves several needs at once: warmth against the cold, water made safe by boiling, cooked food, light and comfort, and a means of signalling for rescue. No other single resource does so much. That is why the ability to make fire ranks among the most valuable survival skills.

This lesson covers fire in three parts: making it, sustaining it, and using it safely. The safe use of fire matters as much as the rest, because a misused fire can harm or kill the very person it was meant to help, through burns, through a fire that spreads, or through carbon monoxide in an enclosed space. Cold-Weather Operations and Survival (FLD 240) covers fire in the cold in depth, including carbon-monoxide safety; this lesson establishes the principles.

By the end you will be able to explain why fire is so valuable in survival; describe the principles of making fire, including the fire triangle and building a fire up; explain how to sustain a fire once made; explain the dangers of fire and how to guard against them, especially carbon monoxide; and make, sustain, and use a fire safely.

Key Terms

The fire triangle: the three things every fire needs: heat (a source of ignition), fuel, and air (oxygen). Remove any one and the fire dies.
Tinder: fine, dry, easily-caught material that takes the first flame from the source of ignition.
Kindling: small material that the burning tinder lights, used to build the fire up.
Fuel: the larger material that the burning kindling lights and that sustains the fire.
Sustaining fire: keeping a fire going once made by feeding it fuel and maintaining the heat, fuel, and air it needs.
Carbon monoxide: a deadly, invisible, odourless gas that a fire produces, especially in an enclosed space, where it can kill a sheltering person without warning.

Why fire is so valuable

A soldier must understand the value of fire to take the skill of making it seriously. Fire serves more survival needs at once than anything else a soldier can carry or find.

It warms the body against the cold, serving the first survival priority set out in the protection-from-the-elements lesson. It boils water, which the water lesson identified as the most reliable common method of making found water safe to drink. It cooks food, which the food lesson covers. It gives light in the dark, and the comfort that sustains the will to survive, the most important survival factor of all. And its flame and smoke can signal for rescue, which the being-found lesson covers.

So a soldier who can make fire can warm themselves, make water safe, cook, see, and signal. A soldier who cannot make fire has none of these. Value the skill accordingly.

Making fire

A fire needs three things, the fire triangle: heat to ignite it, fuel to burn, and air to feed it. Lacking any one, it will not light. Making a fire means providing all three and building from small materials up.

Work in increasing size. Tinder takes the first flame from your source of ignition. Kindling, lit by the burning tinder, builds the fire up. Fuel, lit by the burning kindling, sustains it. Catch the flame in the tinder, build it with kindling, then add fuel, arranging everything so air can reach it throughout.

The most reliable source of ignition is matches or a lighter carried in your kit, so carry them. Lacking those, survival fire-making teaches other methods, which are harder and demand practice. The detail of gathering and preparing tinder, kindling, and fuel, and of building the fire, is taught in person and drawn from the FLD 240 fire teaching. Learn and practise it; this lesson gives you the principles.

   FIRE IN SURVIVAL (serves MANY needs at once)

   WARMTH (vs cold) + MAKE WATER SAFE (boil) + COOK FOOD
   + LIGHT & COMFORT (morale) + SIGNAL for rescue
   -> making fire is among the MOST VALUABLE skills.

   THE FIRE TRIANGLE (all three needed):
        HEAT (ignition) --- FUEL --- AIR (oxygen)

   MAKING IT: build from small up --
   TINDER (first flame) -> KINDLING (builds up) -> FUEL (sustains).
   Provide AIR throughout. Carry matches/lighter.

   SUSTAINING IT: feed fuel; maintain heat/fuel/air.

   USING IT SAFELY (fire is valuable but DANGEROUS):
   - BURNS: keep clear; control the fire
   - SPREADING FIRE: clear the ground; never leave unattended;
     put out fully
   - *** CARBON MONOXIDE ***: deadly, invisible; a fire in an
     ENCLOSED/shelter space can KILL. VENTILATE. (FLD 240 front-and-centre)

Sustaining fire

A fire that is made but not fed goes out. To keep its benefits, you must sustain it by maintaining the three things it needs over time.

Feed it fuel as it burns through what it has, so gather and hold a supply. Keep it arranged so air can reach it, so it does not smother. The heat looks after itself as long as fuel and air hold. Manage the size sensibly: too large wastes fuel, too small fails its purpose. Maintain the fuel supply so the fire lasts as long as you need it. This sensible management of fire and fuel over time is part of the disciplined field living covered in the capstone.

Using fire safely

Fire is valuable, but it is dangerous, and the safe use of it matters as much as making and sustaining it. A misused fire can harm or kill the very person it was meant to help. Guard against three dangers.

Burns. Fire burns. Keep clear of it, handle it carefully, and keep it controlled. Combat First Aid (MED 201) covers the treatment of burns should they occur.

A spreading fire. A fire can spread beyond where you want it, igniting the surroundings, especially in dry conditions. Clear the ground around it of anything that could catch, keep it controlled, never leave it unattended where it could spread, and put it out fully when done.

Carbon monoxide. This is the most insidious danger, and the one to respect most. Carbon monoxide is a deadly, invisible, odourless gas that fire produces, above all when it burns in an enclosed space. It can kill a sheltering person without warning, because they cannot see or smell it and may never know they are being poisoned. FLD 240 places this danger front and centre, because the urge to bring a fire or stove into an enclosed shelter for warmth is strong, and in the cold that urge is at its strongest. Never burn a fire or stove in an enclosed space without adequate ventilation. Make sure any fire in a shelter can vent, so the gas escapes rather than building to a lethal level. This is one of the most important fire-safety rules there is.

In Practice: Making Fire and Using It Safely

A soldier of the Royal Kaharagian Army, caught out and needing fire, gathers tinder, kindling, and fuel and lights the tinder with matches from their kit. They catch the first flame, build it up with kindling, add fuel, and keep air reaching the fire throughout. They feed it and manage its size so it lasts. The fire warms them against the cold, boils their found water safe, cooks their food, gives light and comfort, and stands ready to signal for rescue.

They also use it safely. They keep clear to avoid burns. They clear the ground around the fire, keep it controlled, and put it out fully so it cannot spread. And when they shelter, they refuse to bring a fire or stove into an enclosed space without ventilation, however much they want the warmth, because they know the carbon monoxide it would produce could kill them in their sleep. They get the benefit of fire without paying its price.

Check Your Understanding

Explain why fire is so valuable in a survival situation. Name the needs it serves, and state what a soldier who cannot make fire lacks.
Describe the fire triangle and how a fire is built up from tinder through kindling to fuel. Then explain how a fire is sustained once made, and why an unfed fire goes out.
Explain the three dangers of fire. Why is carbon monoxide the most insidious, and why must any fire in an enclosed space always be ventilated?

Reflection (write a short paragraph): Carbon monoxide is deadly, invisible, and gives no warning, yet the danger arrives precisely when the desire for warmth in an enclosed shelter is strongest. Be honest with yourself: would you respect a threat you cannot see or feel, in the moment a strong need tempts you toward the very thing that causes it? Why does the discipline to respect unseen dangers, and to resist the temptations that lead to them, matter so much in survival? Describe one way you could build that discipline, so that you would never burn a fire in an enclosed space without ventilation.

Summary

Fire serves several survival needs at once: warmth, water made safe by boiling, cooked food, light and comfort, and signalling for rescue. No single resource does more, which is why making fire is among the most valuable survival skills.
Every fire needs heat, fuel, and air (the fire triangle); remove one and it dies. Make fire by building from small up: tinder, then kindling, then fuel, with air throughout. Carry matches or a lighter as your most reliable ignition.
Sustain a fire by feeding it fuel, keeping it open to air, and managing its size, with a maintained fuel supply. An unfed fire goes out and its benefits are lost.
Use fire safely: guard against burns (keep clear, stay in control), against a spreading fire (clear the ground, never leave it unattended, put it out fully), and above all against carbon monoxide, the deadly invisible gas that can kill a sheltering person without warning. Never burn a fire in an enclosed space without adequate ventilation.
This skill draws on the warmth of Lesson 03, the boiled water of Lesson 04, the cooking of Lesson 06, and the signalling of Lesson 07; on the fire and carbon-monoxide depth of Cold-Weather Operations and Survival (FLD 240) and the burns teaching of Combat First Aid (MED 201); and on the disciplined field living of the capstone (Lesson 08).

Fire: Making, Sustaining, and Using It Safely