Camp Fire Safety And How To Build A Campfire

Camp fire safety guide to ensure you enjoy the traditional fun way of camping and have knowledge of how to build a campfire the safe way. It is so cool at the end of your days activities to sit around a campfire with a good meal and maybe a beer or two.

Camping Safety is important for for solo-camping, hiking, backpacking, family camping and group camping.

Camp Fire Safety

• Ensure campfires are permitted. This should be clear as you enter the campsite.
• National parks and official campsites may not allow campfires, be sure to check before you book your trip to save disappointment. It's easy to find out too late.
• If you are camping in the wilderness be aware of the environment and where the fire will be set up.
• Keep a bucket of water close to the campfire incase it gets out of hand and plenty of distance from your camping tents. It only takes a small floating piece of ember to ruin your tent.
• Children love fires; they are intrigued by them. I have never let my children add wood to the fire because they become too relaxed about it and next thing they want put a forest on there.
• Someone be in charge of the campfire but make it fun for the kids searching for wood and ember; the kids love this too. They just want to be involved.If they think an important job is to collect wood and pass wood to dad for the campfire there attention diverts from putting wood on the fire.
• Never leave the campfire unattended. Very important camp fire safety tip to prevent fire spreading.
• Doubt the camp fire completely before sleeping by pouring water and soil on the burnt embers.
• There is no need to use fuels to build the campfire and get it started; it can be dangerous.
• Build a campfire with kindling to get it started,there will be no need for fuels. Firelighters are ok but still not needed if your wood is dry.
• If there are poor wind conditions postpone the fire until tomorrow.


• Make sure no cannisters, gas, hairspray or alcohol based products are close to the fire to prevent explosions. Apart from you bottle of beer of course.
• If you will be cooking using the campfire the safe way to cook is using a cooking tripod. These tripods from Amazon have reviews worth viewing.
• Traditional baked potatoes are a real treat camping. Use a tea towel or something similar to prevent burns.

How To Build A Campfire

Choose your spot and if possible collect rocks that you are able to form a circle with as the picture shows above. This will keep all the wood in and burnt embers together.

Collect tinder, small twigs, wood shavings or paper to get the fire started. Kindling is slightly bigger twigs that will start the process of the logs burning.

The larger logs and any branches fallen for the main fuel that keep your campfire burning.

Shape your campfire in a criss cross shape or similar to a teepee. I prefer the criss cross for stability. Start with your tinder and your kindling stacked around the tinder like a small teepee.

Criss cross with this example with two logs parallel and another two above but a closer width. Three or four stacks similar to a pyramid will do. Making sure the tinder and kindling have plenty of air. Air is the oxygen to start the campfire.

The camp fire below is a bigger version of the plan but a very good view of the structure

Final build a camp fire instruction All you have left to do is to make sure you have enough logs to top it up and bring some fire to it. Light the small tinder in the centre of the fire. if it does not seem to have enough fire to start the logs just add more kindling and it will start roaring. The last and final instruction for how to build a campfire is to kick your shoes back and enjoy. Maybe if you have kids, visit our camp songs for kids article. Follow the camp fire safety guide here, research and take note of where there are fire bans. Most of all have a fantastic camping experience.