THE PERFECT FIRE LAY

CHOOSE AND BUILD THE RIGHT FIRE FOR YOUR SITUATION

The way an outdoorsman arranges their firewood for a campfire, cook fire, signal fire, council fire or just a quick boil is generally considered a “fire lay.” Let me first go back to what it may have been like for many of us the first few times we tried to make a fire. Of course, I am speaking of my own experiences here, but I think there might be a few of you who can relate to this.

Whether the fire was started with a lighter, matches, ferrocerium rod or another method doesn’t matter, because, once it went ablaze, we then went scrambling around the woods looking for sticks, leaves and logs—often picking them up right off the ground, where they are more likely to be damp. Sooner or later, our fire would end up in a smoky smudge! I don’t know if anyone can relate to this story, but such was my experience the first few times I made fire.

Fire Lay System

I like to consider a fire lay as a system that works, because it uses the most important things needed for a successful fire. Of course, tinder, kindling and fuel need to be collected from dry standing wood, but then what? Once the aforementioned is gathered, how the fire is built is often the difference between a successful fire and the old “smudge.”

There is an acronym we use to help remember what goes into a fire and what is needed to allow it to continue to burn. “HAF” stands for heat, air and fuel. Every fire comprises these three elements. Take just one away, and there is no fire.

Fire lays not only use these three elements, they also use basic fire-building techniques, such as lighting the upwind side so the wind blows the flame into the fuel, leaving enough air space between pieces of wood to prevent suffocating it, and building the fire upward, rather than flat and wide. Building the fire up takes advantage of the rising hot air, because fire travels upward.

Teepee Fire Lay

Arguably the most commonly seen fire lay in movies, diagrams and photographs is the “teepee” (or “tipi”) fire.

This fire is easily constructed by first setting up the structure of the teepee by using three finger-thick sticks that have a natural “Y” crotch to them. Simply arrange the three Y ends so they lock together and form a teepee/ tripod shape. Green sticks can also be used for the initial tripod frame, because they are only there to hold up the structure. If thin, dry sticks are used for the tripod, they will quickly burn up, and the whole affair will topple down. So, when using dry sticks, make sure they are about finger thickness.

The next step is to determine which direction the breeze is coming from and start to lean thin, toothpick-/matchstick-thick sticks around the teepee structure, leaving a small opening where the breeze will be hitting the teepee. Continue leaning sticks and work up to pencil-thick and then finger-thick sticks. It is important to leave enough air space for the fire to breath.

At this point, refrain from adding larger pieces of wood, because it will only do two things:

block air and knock the teepee over. The final step is to place a tinder bundle into the small opening of the teepee and light it.

The teepee fire lay produces a fast flame and eventually falls into itself, creating a pile of coals. The structure uses the rising hot air and concentrates it up to a single point, which is useful for boiling water in a single pot above the teepee. Once the teepee collapses, larger pieces of wood (fuel) can be laid in a crisscross on top of the flames.

Log Cabin Fire Lay

This is one of many variations of this type of fire lay. The “log cabin” fire is a classic fire lay used for starting a quick blaze that results in coals for a cook fire. One version of this fire lay is ignited from the bottom; another is ignited from the top.

For the purpose of this article, I will discuss the type that is ignited from the top: It allows for use on top of wet ground and snow, thus keeping the tinder up and away from the moisture on the ground. However, the log cabin can be built on a platform of stones, bark or logs and ignited from the bottom. If rain or snow is imminent, igniting the fire from the bottom could be beneficial, because the top layers would add protection from blown rain or light snow—shielding the valuable flame while providing hot rising air.

To construct a log cabin fire lay, start with two wrist-thick pieces of wood about 7 to 10 inches long. Lay them parallel to each other about 5 inches apart. On top of these bottom pieces, add two more pieces of wood perpendicular to the first two, making a square foundation. These pieces of wood should be a little thinner in diameter.

The lean-to is the author’s preferred fire lay for the simplicity and efficiency it offers. It can be used to start a hunter’s fire by adding another log or large stone parallel to the lean-to log.

A teepee fire lay is the most commonly used fire for warmth or for boiling directly above the flame. It can also act as a basis for starting other fire lays. Here, the author used a teepee fire to boil water in a kettle suspended on a large tripod.

After the lean-to fire lay was ablaze for a while, the author added larger, wristthick fuel to the fire. From this point, it is easy to make a long fire or hunter’s fire for warmth and cooking. The author was able to boil a quart of water in about three minutes as a result of the hot rising air and flames from the log cabin fire lay. This fire lay can be made high or low to the ground.