Start a Fire

The more ways you know to start a fire in the bush, the greater your chances of survival. This video will show you how to use a Fresnel lens, a specialized magnifying glass, to magnify sunlight and start a fire. A more refined application of the magnifying-glass-melting-ants-o ...more

Making a fire is important in order to stay warm and more importantly stay alive. In this video tutorial you'll find out how to use a quartz, old file, and the back end of your knife to help start a fire. And again, remember that fire can be dangerous and cause major damage to ...more

Forget the sticks and drop the matches, Joe Kelley shows you the easiest way to start a fire in the woods: steel wool and a battery. All you need to do is touch the volt battery to the steel wool. Watch this video camping tutorial and learn how to start a fire with steel wool ...more

This video shows the viewer how to start a fire using char cloth and a fire steel. Char cloth is a fabric which burns/smolders very slowly. This makes it very useful for starting fires. The video suggests gathering dried grass. The smoldering chard cloth should then be placed ...more

In this how-to video, some children demonstrate one of the techniques for starting a fire when you don't have a lighter, matches, lighter fluid, or anything like that. Here we see how to start a fire using just a 9 volt battery and some steel wool. TO start a fire using just a ...more

Strike a fire with a battery. "Sticks and stone may brake your bones, but they will take forever to start a fire!" This is a good video if you need to survive in the wild by creating a fire.

Rain hampers many survival situations by making fires both more necessary and more difficult to start. This video will give you some expert advice on how to start a fire in the rain the woods, which has a greater chance of helping you survive than almost any other survival ski ...more

Brush up on your survival skills with help from Maine Primitive Skills School instructor Nick Spadaro. In this video, learn how to keep yourself warm on your camping trip & start a fire using the strap drill friction fire method.

Start a fire using water. It is a pretty cool trick. This guy takes a couple of goofy household chemicals and creates a powder that explodes when water touches it.

Did you know that there is enough fat and oil in most chips that they can be lit on fire? See how a potato chip (or similar chip) can be used to start a fire in a survival situation in this instructional video. Just don't burn up all your food.

Brush up on your survival skills with help from this video. In this outdoor training tutorial, learn how to correctly start a fire using a flint and steel using paper and tissue. In the wild, without paper and tissue, a leaf and dry grass would most likely be used. Get your fi ...more

OK, your flashlight just died, but wait, don't throw it out! In this quick and simple video, you can learn how to use the parabolic lens from that dead flashlight to start a fire in the wild. You'll need a parabolic lens, some dry ignition material for kindling and you'll need ...more

This video illustrate us how to start a fire with the "fire saw" friction method. Here are the following steps: Step 1: First of all take the bark of bamboo or any other tree keeping in mind that the bark should be intact and that it is completely dry. Step 2: Now take any s ...more

This video explains how to start a fire without matches through the use of a hand drill. To start the fire, the process consists of the use of a straight stick or weed such as goldenrod to be used as a hand drill. Hold the stick between both hands while holding it against a pi ...more

This how-to video is about how to start a fire with a single match stick by Shannon Davis. This video is really helpful especially for those who are going for trucking. If we get struck in the middle of nowhere and if we are in a situation to spend the whole night in the fores ...more

You don't need a stock pile of kindling to hold the flame and really get your fire started. There are a variety of creative yet effective substitutes. Leftover chips from lunch, an extra toilet paper roll, these are only a few ideas on how to start your next fire. Fire is ess ...more

Learn to survive in the outdoors or in case of a disaster by watching this how-to video. This disaster prep video shows you how to use the firesteel and petroleum jelly cotton balls to start a fire. All you have to do is pull apart a pj ball, take the firesteel and scrape your ...more

This video shows the viewer how to start a fire using a steel wool and a 9 volt battery. This is done by first selecting a charge battery and clean steel wool. The gently rub the battery terminals across the steel wool and blow gently. The wool should glow and become superheat ...more

In this Disaster Preparation video tutorial you will learn how to start a fire with a "flint on marcasite" method. Mal Stephens, head instructor of Maine Primitive Skill School presents this video. Marcasite is a form of iron pyrite and you can get friction fire from fine grai ...more

Follow along with the steps in this how-to video and find out how a magnifying glass can be used to start a fire. 1. Crumble a few leaves into a small pile. 2. Get you magnifying glass and make a beam from the sun as small a circle as you can. It has to be a circle or it won't ...more

If you're camping or stuck out in the middle of nowhere, chances are, you could be faced with dark and freezing cold nights. Learn how to make a simple camp fire out of flint and birch bark. This is for in case you do not have a lighter on you at any given time. To start the f ...more

Starting a fire is one of the most important things you can do in a survival situation, but doing so is seldom as easy as you'd like. This video will teach you all sorts of ways to light fires, including making firestarters out of cotton balls and petroleum jelly, using natura ...more

By scraping a magnesium fire starter with a blade, you can create a spark to start a flame. This is basically the same idea as flint, rubbing rocks together, or sticks, but a little bit more foolproof. Watch this video survival training tutorial and learn how to make a fire wi ...more

Longing for the coziness of a fire? Follow these tips for a safe and successful experience. You Will Need * A fireplace * An axe * Softwood * Hardwood * Matches * Newspaper WARNING: Never use charcoal lighter, kerosene, or gasoline to start a fire in a fireplace. Step 1 Use ...more

If you are stuck in the wild and run out of matches, dip into your food supply and start a fire that way. This handy tutorial will show you how to stay warm with nothing but a can and a chocolate bar. You Will Need • Aluminum can • Chocolate bar • Towel, cloth, or paper • ...more

This video demonstrates how to build a fire with a bow drill. Your bow should be slightly curved. It should be the length of your arm. It can be fashioned from a tree limb and rawhide cord. You can use any number of types of cord. You will need a top rock. You will need a boar ...more

Nick Spadaro shows how to make a fire with a fire piston. This device creates fire by compression, just like a deisel engine. You can find these online. Lubricate the gasket with just about anything, including chapstick or animal fat. Then put it in and make sure you have a ni ...more

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to use a fire steel. The fire steel consists of a piece of steel and a striker. To use the fire steel, simply by pressing one piece against the other to create sparks. To ignite a fire with the sparks, users will need some sort of kind ...more

Spark it up and learn how to light a fire with steel wool and a ferro rod. This is another method of fire starting which is simple, easy and effective. With your ferrocerium rod, some dry brush, leaves and a gentle breath you'll be on your way to heat, warmth and survival.

In this video you'll see how the Masai tribe make fire using friction. All you need is some really dry brush or grass, a stick and piece of wood with a hole.

What happens when you need to build a fire, but you forgot your matches and lighter? What if you don't know the fire-plow method, the bow and drill method, or even the flint and steel method (not that you would have flint, because you forgot your lighter)? Watch this survival ...more

This video demonstrates how to make a fire without any matches using the Swedish Firesteel magnesium fire starter. You need to have some good tinder, such as dryer lint or a cotton ball. To make it burn longer, you can use petroleum jelly. He puts some Vaseline on the cotton b ...more

Ever wanted to know how to make a fire with your cell phone? All you need is a cell phone, a brillo pad, and material for tinder. First take the battery out of your phone and find the positive and negative contacts on the bottom of it. Next tear off a chunk of the brillo pad, ...more

In this weekend project, MAKE and KipKay show you how to make a char cloth to start a campfire in a hurry. Char cloth is cheap and effective stuff. You need a metal container, an old t-shirt, and a can of Sterno, and then you're pretty much good to go. MAKE zine aims to bring ...more

John Campbell instructs the audience on using the hand drill method of starting a friction fires. First, you can use a piece of cottonwood as your fire-board (in his opinion, cottonwood is the best). You need to carve a small round hole about a quarter of an inch away from the ...more

In a survival situation, one of the most vital pieces of gear you can have is a fire starting kit. If you aren't adept at starting fire and want to be prepared for a disaster, watch this video for a guide to assembling a basic waterproof fire starting kit that will start a fir ...more

Tinder is difficult to come by in the best of conditions, but in a damp wilderness survival situation finding it can be downright impossible. Enter this video. It will teach you how to make solid fuel fire starters out of cotton balls and candle wax, which you can use to start ...more

Lost in the wilderness? Did you forget your emergency personal beacon (EPERB)? Learn from the BBC how to start a signal fire using your car battery and a piece of wire wool. Let's just hope you have a car . . .

This video will tell you all you need to know to get that fire of yours started using an aluminum fire piston. Never leave home without this, that is, if you live in the woods.

In this video, we learn how to start a great fire in a wood stove. First, you will need premium kindling, gloves, and a small axe. Next, you will chop the wood into small pieces using the axe, making small splits. After you have a large pile of kindling together, store the pie ...more

In this tutorial, we learn how to start a cozy fire with lava rocks soaked in oil. First, grab your lava rocks and place them in a tin can, then fill it up with oil. Now, throw some wood into your fireplace while these are soaking. Use an old pair of metal tongs to take the ro ...more

This is an instructional video on how to put together a fire starting kit. The kit includes everything from a lighter to fatwood. The second video in this sequence will show you how to use the items detailed in the fire starting kit. Part 1 of 2 - How to Put together a good fi ...more

A fire is the second most important thing you need to have in most survival situations, so having a good fire starting kit in your wilderness survival gear is crucial. This video will show you a variety of great fire starting tools you can include in your survival gear and how ...more

Fatwood is an immense boon for any wilderness survival situation. It's a type of tree that has soaked up tons of nutrients from the ground and is perfect for starting fires. It can be broken down into kindling that will start fires for you time and time again. This video will ...more

Charcloth is basically charred cloth (surprisingly enough) that doubles an an excellent tinder source for starting fires. This video will show you how to easily make charcloth out of an old t-shirt, a metal tin, and a fire. Now you'll be able to start fires much more easily at ...more

Jason shows you in this video tutorial, how to make char cloth to start emergency fires. Making your own emergency fire-starting material could someday save your life! Making char cloth is an easy way to make an emergency fire starter with materials you already have lying arou ...more

This is a short video to help in identifying a fatwood stump. Fatwood is what happens when a tree dies a sudden death, and the roots continue sending resin to the rest of the tree, which creates resin-rich fire starting fatwood.

Operation fire-saw. The British Army use tips from Bushcraft & Survival Skills Magazine to boost morale in Afghanistan and to practise their firelighting skills using an article written by firelighting expert Dave Watson. This shows how to light fires with bamboo and a fire s ...more

This is a short video showing what tinder fungus is, what to look for, and how it is used. Tinder fungus is nice to have because it does not combust quickly, but rather smolder for a long time.

Sealing the bead on a tire with starting fluid so it can be inflated. This is a great Redneck trick to fixing old tires that are separated from their hubs. Spray the starter fluid into the space between the tire and the bead. Light with match or lighter. Have a fire extinguish ...more

The warmth of a fire is great while camping or on a cold winter’s night but it can be difficult to get those log roaring. Use materials you have at home to create some easy, fool-proof fire starters that you can use the next time you need to get some logs burning. Save that s ...more