Do You Smell Smoke?

Don’t let it get away from you!  Or as Smoky the Bear says, “Only you can prevent forest fires,”  OK, I know, forest fires can be started by lightning strikes as well and you can’t do anything about it, but, it is true that many people don’t use good fire sense when they are in the outdoors and even in the house.  Many house fires are caused by the careless use of candles, oil lamps and lanterns.  A tip for using an oil lamp or lantern in the house; set it in a 9×13, 2 inch deep pan and then if it should get knocked over, you hopefully won’t have burning oil or kerosene spilling on the table or counter and running down onto the floor.  Also, always keep a fire extinguisher handy or flour and such to throw on the fire in case it gets out of hand.

When the weather turns cold or wet, especially if you are outdoors in a camping or survival scenario, there is nothing like the comfort of a warm fire to take the chill out of your bones and give you light as well as a means to boil water and cook your food.  But, when the climate is dry, fires can easily get out of hand.  Fire can travel by sparks or even underground burning through the root systems of trees and bushes.  Also some soils are made of dry forest debris which is highly flammable.  If possible, a fire should be burned in an established fire ring or if one is not available, make a fire ring out of rocks, avoiding rocks that come out of a stream or in wet soil as they can contain moisture and explode when heated.  Put mud, clay or sand down first as a base for your fire.

Then, when you get ready to leave, pour water over the fire and stir it around with a stick, spread out any sticks or burning logs so they can’t build heat by being together in case you missed a hot spot.  When the smoke and steam stops rising and you think the fire is truly out, stir it again with a stick and hold your open palm a few inches above the ashes to see if you can still feel significant heat.  It will still be a little warm, but should not be hot enough to re-ignite.

We all want to be warm and this is especially true in the spiritual sense.  It is the fire of the Holy Spirit that burns within our soul and we do not want to quench Him.  We quench the fire of the Spirit when we ignore or disobey His still, small voice of guidance.  The Holy Spirit is a Gentleman and will not force you to obey Him.  If you refuse to listen, He will quietly get out of your way and let you do what you want to do.  But, then, the fire goes out and we grow cold spiritually.  So, while we have to be careful that we don’t burn down the forest in a camping or a survival situation and thus confine the fire to a small controllable size, we actually want the Holy Spirit to consume all of us! ” Lord, burn out all the sin and ugliness in my heart and make me pure within!”

James B.

PS. You can check out my website where you can set up training for many of these skills at www.waypointsurvival.com and look at and order my custom knives at www.benderknifeworks.com.