Harsh Winter Survival Tips: Starting a Fire - Jeffery Mckeon

Harsh Winter Survival Tips: Starting a Fire - Jeffery Mckeon

Rating - ***

This article gives in depth tips of the importance, and urgency of how to build a fire in harsh winter conditions.  

In this article. The author explains that in such conditions, the decisions made by the person in the survival situation can prove to be life or death choices, for example, building the right fire. When explaining how to, he goes into detail on where the fire should be built, for example, he explains that it is better for the fire to not be under a tree as there is snow above. He also tells the reader that it is suggested that the fire should be in a pit about 6 inches deep down from wet snowy surfaces, from there author goes into detail on how the fire should be constructed. First with very flammable things in in the middle, (tinder etc.). Then on to smaller sticks, then consecutively more sticks and branches, keeping in mind that all these sticks should be dry and dead if possible. It is then explained that when building the fire to be bigger, the wet bigger logs should be placed around the fire for it to dry for around 45 minutes to an hour. The wet logs should be added on when the fire is considerably big enough, the logs should be added to the hottest parts of the fire to ensure that it won't go out.

This article has affected me by making me rethink my experiences with this, as I have just tried this in my class. It did not go as planned and was harder than expected for me. It made me think about how hard it would really be if I was actually in harsh weather, and in a damp, cold, dark situation. How would I handle it? I learned how to correctly construct a fire, and how to use the wet logs properly when burning them. This has inspired me to learn how to build a fire correctly in any condition, as I don't have much experience with it, it has made me want to gain knowledge about it. In fact, my behavior about this has changed a lot, as this has made me think about this more seriously as it can result in life or death situations. 

Mckeon, Jeffrey. "Harsh Winter Survival Tips Starting a Fire." Sporting Life 360. Sporting Life 360, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://www.sportinglife360.com/index.php/harsh-winter-survival-tips-starting-a-fire-2338/>.