Since you can't just raise the setting on the home thermostat to warm up or turn on the stove to cook, building a fire is one of the most important tasks to accomplish. Whether for warmth, signaling or cooking, a fire is a critical survival skill and a great morale builder. The worse the weather, the more important the fire is going to be and the more difficult it can be to get started.
The foundation of any fire is tinder. Tinder must be easily lit, either because of the nature of the material or how it is prepared. Tinder type materials can be a commercially prepared product (best, especially in wet conditions), self made tinder like cotton balls infused with petroleum jelly or found/native materials like paper, tree moss, wood shavings, pitch wood, birch bark, cattail fluff, what ever you can find to experiment with. Search the Internet for commercial tinder materials and research it well before you buy. Know the nature of area before you go adventuring, so you can plan accordingly.
If you have fuel from the vehicle, you can use it to start a fire, but BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL! Best to soak a rag or other material with it and use that as tinder, standing well away while lighting. Use only small amounts. Never pour fuel on a fire, even if it appears to be dead.
Break long pieces against a log, do not risk injuring your knee or shin. Split wood by using a stout piece of wood as a club to hammer your knife down into the end of the branch or log.
Finally, there is "fuel," wood about the size of your wrist or slightly larger. Generally, it is best to avoid bigger logs which can be difficult to light and keep going, though wood split from larger logs makes excellent fuel.
Gather all your materials before lighting the fire, making sure you keep them dry, and gather THREE TIMES what you think you need! Place it in piles close at hand, arranged by size.
The Fire Triangle- Fuel, Heat, Oxygen & Patience
To create a fire you need fuel, oxygen, heat and a measure of patience. Don't rush into getting it done. Get it started the first time. Clear an area at least 10 ft around of flammable material. (While a forest or wildland fire will get you noticed, it isn't a recommended survival signal.) If you must build a fire on top of snow, make a platform of logs--preferably green or wet logs.
There are many ways to build a fire set if you've the experience, but we are going to use the USAF Survival School method because it is one that is very nearly foolproof: Find a flat piece of dry wood to use as a platform. Lay a decent sized piece of wood next to it as a brace, creating a right angle which also serves as a windbreak and gives a path for air flow. Place your commercial or prepared tinder or a handful of natural tinder in the crook of the brace and platform and fluff it up to allow air (oxygen) to pass easily through it. Now you are ready.
Use a spark, lens, match, lighter or other source of fire to light the tinder. Conserve your fire starting resources. Don't waste matches if you can use a spark for example. On the other hand, if you are freezing or it's raining, use the lighter or matches with your best tinder materials. If all else fails, a signal flare (NOT an aerial flare) will very nearly always light even wet materials on fire. This is the time you can breakout that commercially bought materials designed for wet weather.
As soon as the tinder catches, blow gently on it. As soon as it flames up, very carefully place a handful of the smallest kindling over it, leaning it against the brace to keep from smothering the tinder. Leave plenty of air space or you will extinguish the flame. Blow gently, if needed, to coax it along. As the small kindling catches, carefully add larger kindling, a little at a time. Add successively larger kindling until you have a steady blaze large enough to ignite your fuel-sized wood. Keep your fire small and stay close to it for warmth. A large fire wastes resources and your energy, thus requiring much more effort and energy to gather and prepare fuel without any added benefits. Make small fire keep warm or keep warm collecting more wood I believe the story goes.
Be careful not to become overheated while building your shelter or fire. In cold weather it is easy to soak your clothing with sweat, losing it's insulating value and chilling you. Always take the time to open up, take off, close up or put on additional layers to prevent getting too hot or cold. If you are working so hard to sweat you are not conserving.
In sunny climates, even under overcast skies, keep covered up to prevent potentially debilitating or deadly sunburn. Keep your clothing as clean as possible because dirt lowers the insulating value. Don't kneel or sit in the dirt, for example, squat if necessary.
