Fire Building
Making a fire lay is the way you assemble your wood before lighting. There are a few methods to use, depending on what you will use your fire for.
Whatever type of fire you decide to make, keep these things in mind:
Plan where you will light it, you will need leave an opening to reach the tinder.
Leave a space between the pieces of wood so the air can get to it.
Build the wood up, don't lay it down, otherwise your fire may have a short life.
As with all fires, planning is important.
Never leave a fire unattended.
Have some way to extinguish the fire if you need to.
Always have a first aid kit nearby.
Teepee lay
This is the most common of all fire lays. You will need to find some dead wood, around about the same size, if not break or cut down to size. Build a teepee style formation, make it sturdy. Leave a opening to put your tinder and kindling in. Make sure you have more wood for fuel nearby. Once the tinder is lit and the kindling is flaming nicely, the outside will feed the fire.
Lean to lay
Quite an easy fire lay, you can also lean up against some rocks. Put your tinder and kindling down, then lay various pieces of dry wood against it. Leave a gap in the building so the air can get in. As before, make sure you have more wood for fuel nearby. Once the tinder is lit and the kindling is flaming nicely, the laid wood will feed the fire.
Star fire lay
When this wood/fuel is scarce, this lay will give you more control over the fire. You can control the temperature, if you want it hotter, push the branches in. If you want it cooler, pull the branches out. You can use fewer logs, but the minimum would be three logs. You can build a small teepee lay in the middle to start the fire off.
Large log cabin lay
The log cabin fire, also known as the criss-cross fire, is also a very popular way to have a camp fire. It is mainly a criss-cross build of small to medium sized wood that either can burn down to create a quick cooking fire or a basis of a larger fire. This is a large version, but you can do a smaller one and build up from there.