Fire Tins

By Mel Evans and Kevin Fuller

Fire is a key part of Forest School especially when working with Families. On a very primal level the campfire allows us to access the woods all year round. There is nothing like keeping warm around a roaring fire on a cold Winters day or huddling together under a tarp as the rain drips off the edges. If we are blessed with a dry hot summer then we might not light any fires for a while. But come the Autumn the scent of wood smoke is as much a part of the changing seasons as the smell of Chrysanthemums or mushrooms pushing through the soil. It helps remind us of where we are in the earths cycle.

The campfire allows us to make hot drinks and many friendships are formed or cemented while sipping hot chocolate and watching the flames. We love to cook on the fire using foraged, seasonal and homegrown ingredients. You can show me a hundred team building games, but not one will be as effective as a group of people cooking together and sharing food around an open fire,

Of course fire is to be respected and we have clear ways of doing things to keep everyone safe. The children learn to understand this and learn how to take appropriate risks. Everyone can help make the fire, if they wish, irrespective of their age and this encourages a mutual ownership.

With all this importance placed on the fire it is very important that we succeed in getting it to light! Ray Mears talks about this and advises that, in a survival situation, if you don’t think you have a reasonable chance of starting a fire don’t even try. This is because failure would be more detrimental in loss of moral than living without a fire.

We have off course learned lots of tricks to get a fire started in adverse conditions. Birch bark, Pine Resin and feather sticks are all useful. As is stashing kindling in a dry spot on a sunny day.

Kev has been experimenting with making fire tins as an emergency means of starting the fire. Some of our Dangerous Dads have already had a go at making these using Kev’s tutorial.

Now is a great time to start making some at home ahead of the Winter when (fingers crossed) we will all be spending lots of time in the woods.

MAKING THE FIRE TIN

DEMONSTRATING THE FIRE TIN

Kev Says - I secure tins and kit using "Ranger Bands" they are basically strong rubber bands originally thought up by the US Rangers to secure kit. I make mine from an old push bike inner tube. They have 2 uses on my fire tins. Firstly to secure the lid and secondly being rubber they burn easily even when they are wet and can be used to start fires