Creating a fire is one of the essential aspects of outdoor survival. Even if you are just going camping, the ability to start a fire is perhaps the most important part of the entire trip. Fire provides warmth, light, and a cooking site for any meal of the day.

That is why being able to start a fire in any scenario is as important as any piece of Survival Gear that may be in your pack, tent, or cabin. Starting a fire does not have to be this crazy complicated thing; you can start one relatively easily each time that you are in the great outdoors.

Creating the bed of your fire often gets forgotten about but it is imperative to do. Whenever you build a fire, safety is the first thing that should be on your mind. Don’t be the guy who starts an uncontrollable fire at your camp site.

If you are staying in a camping site, there will likely be a designated fire bed for you to start your fires easily. But if you are staying in a more remote area, you will have to create the bed yourself. Generally, gather a bit of dirt and form it into a 3-4″ thick platform in your “central” area.

Then it’s time to gather your wood. Your tinder is what you need to make a good campfire because when the kindle catches quickly, it can spread to the kindling and get the fire roaring. Things like dry bark, dry leaves, wood shavings, and some dry grass make for excellent tinder.

But since the tinder burns so quickly, you need something more substantial to keep the flame you start going. Big logs will simply smother your flames, so don’t go that route. Your kindling will generally consist of branches and small twigs and, above all else, it needs to be dry or it won’t burn so easily.

Once you have your base of kindling and tinder laid out, you can start your fire. Using a match or lighter works fine; DO NOT USE GASOLINE. If you use gasoline, you will end up on YouTube and not for good reasons. Using a match or lighter allows you to get the fire started in a small patch and let it build up over the tinder and kindling.

When the fire begins to gain steam, add your fuel wood to keep it going. This is your larger pieces of wood. Once the fire burns through the kindling, it will keep going through to the fuel wood and keep your fire burning long into the night.