--- title: "Build and put out a small campfire" published: "2026-10-15" updated: "2026-10-15" author: "Dad Field Manual editors (drafted with AI help)" time: "90 min" cost: "About $5" ages: "8 and up" where: "A fire ring at a campsite, or a backyard fire pit where fires are allowed." topics: ["classic-skills","outdoors"] print: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/print?p=build-a-safe-campfire" url: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/plans/build-a-safe-campfire/" --- # Build and put out a small campfire > Ninety minutes in a fire ring or fire pit. Pick the spot, build the fire in layers, keep it small, then put it all the way out. ## What you need - Matches or a lighter (adult only) (have) - Dry tinder: dry grass, small twigs, paper bark (free) - Kindling (pencil-thick sticks) and a few wrist-thick pieces of firewood (free / $5) - A bucket of water and a shovel, close at hand (have) - A fire ring or a pit with a cleared area around it (have) ## Fire safety: read this first - **Check for burn bans** and fire restrictions with your park or local fire department before you light anything. If a ban is on, skip this plan. - **An adult lights and tends the fire.** Never leave it alone, even briefly, and never leave children alone with it. - **Keep water and a shovel next to the fire** at all times. Keep hair, sleeves and shoes away from the flames. - **Build away from tents, overhanging branches, dry grass and leaves.** Use only a fire ring or cleared pit. ## Steps 1. **Check the rules and the weather** (Dad) Check for local burn bans and fire danger. Look at the wind. No fire in strong wind or in a ban, and if in doubt, don't. 2. **Pick the spot** (Together) Use an existing fire ring or a pit with a cleared area. Look up for low branches and around for tents, dry grass and leaves. Set the bucket of water and the shovel next to it. 3. **Gather three sizes of wood** (Kid) Collect a pile of dry tinder, a pile of pencil-thick kindling and a few wrist-thick fuel pieces. Dead, dry sticks that snap are best. Keep them away from the fire until you're ready. 4. **Build in layers** (Dad shows, Kid copies) The 1911 book says a fire needs kindling and air. Make a small pile of tinder, lean kindling over it, and leave gaps so air can pass under and through. Heavier sticks go on after the kindling catches. 5. **Dad lights it** (Dad) Dad lights the tinder at the base. Everyone stays back. Feed the fire slowly with small sticks, then bigger ones, and keep it small. A small fire is enough. 6. **Let it burn down** (Together) Stop adding wood well before you want to leave so it burns down to coals. Never leave the fire while it burns. 7. **Put it out: drown, stir, feel** (Together) Pour water on the coals until the hissing stops. Stir the ashes with a stick so everything is wet, and check under any rocks. Hold the back of your hand just above it. Keep going until there is no heat. ## If it stalls - If the fire won't catch, there is probably too little air or the wood is damp. Add more tinder and open up the gaps. - Kids tend to pile on wood. Let them add one stick at a time. - Soak more than you think you need. Dirt on a hot fire can hide coals. ## Variations - **Ages 5–7:** Gather the tinder, kindling and fuel and build the fire's layers. Dad lights it and runs the water bucket. - **Ages 8–12:** The full plan with Dad lighting. Let the kid run the drown, stir, feel routine. - **Ages 13+:** Light the fire with Dad standing by, then run the whole thing including the put-out. - **Wind:** Skip it. Strong wind spreads sparks. - **Dry:** If there's a burn ban or dry vegetation, skip the fire and build the unlit layers on a tray. - **Cold:** Good fire weather. Keep gloves nearby and leave extra time to put it out. ## Sources - **1911 scouting handbook, pp. 158–159.** The 1911 book says a camp fire needs kindling and air, built up from dry small branches to heavier sticks. It says to build in the open and away from tents, circle the fire with stones or wet ground, keep buckets of water close, soak the fire and the earth around it afterward, and never leave a fire burning. (checked 2026-10-15) - **Campfire safety today.** Grand Teton National Park says to build fires only in designated areas away from overhanging branches, steep slopes, stumps, logs and dry grass or leaves. Never leave a fire alone, even briefly, and never leave children alone with a fire. Keep water and a shovel nearby, drown and stir the fire and feel for heat, and note that fires may be limited or banned when fire danger is high. (checked 2026-10-15)