Campfires...good in moderation

[Kittykath]

This happened two days ago. The moral of the story is common knowledge but bears repeating.

A dad and his buddies at a neighboring site thought that racing fuel would make a good campfire starter. The flame is invisible and will ignite in a fireball. Unfortunately, his sixteen year old son was in the line of fire and is receiving skin grafts as I write this.

Obviously, firewood and paper are the only things that belong in a firepit.

Secondly, update your first aid kits. Per the paramedics, it should at least contain gloves and a CPR barrier. Keep room temp water and clean sheets on hand.

I'm no nurse, but I like to think that a little preparation and knowledge went a long way.

[WeBeFulltimers]

workhardplayharder wrote:
.......and don't iron clothes while you are wearing them.

And never...EVER...fry bacon without a shirt on! :E

[Jebster]

Watched a guy pour oil from their deep fryer on a fire last weekend. Was kinda funny listening to his wife yell at him about how dumb he was. Wasn't much of a fire after it burned down either.

[Jagtech]

If you really need to use an accelerant, diesel fuel is much less dangerous. Pour it on the UNLIT fire, let it soak in for a few minutes, and then light it. Starts nice and slow, no sudden "whoosh". Only downside is the price of diesel these days....

[jake2250]

Ha,Ha,, I have to admit a stupid action by myself,,,"yes the eye brows grew back",
We ( just the wife and I) were camping at the coast (wet and foggy sometimes at night), purchased wood from the camp host,(wet), I said "no biggie I have a gallon of white fuel".
Well I used a "red Solo cup", third time I splashed a little fuel on the fire I withdrew the cup and it had melted to my thumb and forefinger and was a very nice dancing little flame,, I went to fling it off of my hand and it landed right next to the white fuel can,,,Instant flame out of the pour spout,,, I quickly sprung into action and kicked the gallon can away from the fire and trailer and it made a nice flame trail into a sand dune about fifteen feet from us,,,, I quickly started kicking sand on it as the fire grew,,,, By the grace of god, the can landed on its side with the spout a little uphill, so with enough sand I put the fire out and singed my eye brows,, I walked back to the smoldering pathetic fire and suggested we go inside and get out of the cold,,, She agreed!!

To this day when I start a fire she reminds me to keep the white fuel away!!

Oh,, and I did serve over thirty years as a professional fireman,,, and I do tell that story often......

[jake2250]

Ha,Ha,, I have to admit a stupid action by myself,,,"yes the eye brows grew back",
We ( just the wife and I) were camping at the coast (wet and foggy sometimes at night), purchased wood from the camp host,(wet), I said "no biggie I have a gallon of white fuel".
Well I used a "red Solo cup", third time I splashed a little fuel on the fire I withdrew the cup and it had melted to my thumb and forefinger and was a very nice dancing little flame,, I went to fling it off of my hand and it landed right next to the white fuel can,,,Instant flame out of the pour spout,,, I quickly sprung into action and kicked the gallon can away from the fire and trailer and it made a nice flame trail into a sand dune about fifteen feet from us,,,, I quickly started kicking sand on it as the fire grew,,,, By the grace of god, the can landed on its side with the spout a little uphill, so with enough sand I put the fire out and singed my eye brows,, I walked back to the smoldering pathetic fire and suggested we go inside and get out of the cold,,, She agreed!!

To this day when I start a fire she reminds me to keep the white fuel away!!

Oh,, and I did serve over thirty years as a professional fireman,,, and I do tell that story often......

[CincyGus]

Three things to say to this topic.

First, think about how you may hurt someone when your in charge of starting the fire. Yea, you may have done it a hundred times with gasoline or charcoal lighter fluid without issue and yea, it might be much faster than building the small fire with paper or dry leaves or grass or some other form of tinder. It only takes one accident to change someone's life. Might be yours, might be someone sitting there with you. It might even be someone just watching you who decided to do it your way sometime and isn't as "skilled" as you are and does have a problem.

Secondly, Part of camping in the outdoors is about learning about nature and "roughing it", even though many here, myself included, graduated from tents to a RV many would not consider roughing it anymore. Teach those watching how to build a fire with tinder, slowly getting an ember to grow, slowing adding more fuel with twigs and leaves, slowly increasing the size of the fuel until you have a good enough bed of coals to actually put a log on. All of this is a lost art to many but is a survival skill anyone that visits the woods should have. We are all one accident from spending the night in a place we may have to make shelter and start a fire to stay warm.

Third, I understand we sometimes are in a hurry. I've been there. When I am, there IS a safe way to start a fire fast. It's called MATCHLIGHT charcoal. Carry a small bag, put half dozen briquettes in the fire pit and light it and top it with twigs and your ready to add a log in a few minutes without anyone losing any eyebrows, hair or skin.

Your kids or grandkids are always watching you. What you do is the "right way" in their minds. I for one don't want to be responsible for them having to deal with what that poor kid is dealing with. Not when they are camping with me or some time down the road when they are just "doing what dad/grandpa did".

[restlesswind]

Something else to be careful about,when I was a kid (a long time ago) I poured water from a 5 gallon "jerry can" on a fire to just tame down a burn pile.
When the last of the water went out of the container,there were fumes from the gasoline that had been there earlier.BOOM! That flat sided "jerry can" was no longer flat sided. No injury, but it sure woke me up! And taught me a lesson that has lasted a lifetime.

[time2roll]

Starting a fire with kindling and a single match is a lost art 😞

[2324delk]

You would never know it unless I had shorts on but.

When I was a lot younger and dumber I tried to start a pile of brush on fire with gasoline. That gas vapor is real mean. I had even poured a 20 foot trail of gas to light.

29% of my body got 2nd and 3rd degree burns from the results of that attempt. The explosion was so big it caught my clothes on fire. They told me I would be walking with a limp, because my left leg was burnt so bad. I walk just fine.

Most of the scars have went away with time but the left leg keeps me reminded, of that one dumb move.

[noe-place]

I cut up my own kindling to start each fire and DW always makes sure we have old newsprint for start up. Makes a lovely fire.:B

[lakeside013104]

About 40 years ago my friend and his dad had cleared a lot by the lake to built a camp on. The brush pile was hugh, about 80 feet across and 15 feet high. I remember seeing my friend's father pouring a 5 gallon can of used motor oil all over the top of the pile and then try to light it on fire. No way would the fire start. Then this guy gets a 2 gallon can of gasoline and climbs to the top of the brush pile to pour gas over the brush. After a few minutes he goes to his truck and retrieves an old flare stick, lites it and tosses it onto the brush pile. VAROOM..................BANG........and the whole pile lifts up into the air enough to see day light under the pile. I didn't think about it at the time, but have since, we were all very lucky to still be breathing fresh air. Small camp fires for me from now on will do just fine. You can sit closer to the fire and you don't have to continually run for firewood. Happy camping.

Lakeside

[down_home]

Fell into the stupid pit myself. Knew better. Cut some brush and piled it up to burn didn't think it lit and threw in a little two cycle mix.
Whoosh and my eyebrows and hair on arms disappeared and some minor 1st degree, like sunburn, on hands and arms, face. I wouldn't have let my son or wife or anyone else do it in my presence. Always good to have Someone around to keep you from falling into the stupid pit by yourself.

[Macrosill]

This past weekend I witnessed some campers with a fire so large that the flames were about 6 feet high. Hot embers were flying everywhere. This was at a site with about 25 feet between 2 RVs. Campfires are nice but in moderation, like the OP said. Not only is a very large fire unsafe for the people but it is also dangerous for the entire RV park, should the embers cause a fire elsewhere, and you can damage someones RV. There is a thread I just replied to about someones roof that was damaged by hot embers from a fire.

Keep the fires reasonable and stay safe.

[traveylin]

A of acetone is very similar in size and look to a can of liter fluid and was mistakenly used to start a cold charcoal fire. The resultant rapid ignition caused enough over pressure to scatter the charcoal