How To Be Safe Around A Campfire
Camping and campfires go to together like birds and feathers. Rarely have we gone camping and not had a campfire. Unfortunately, campfires are one of the leading causes for camping injuries. Avoiding campfire accidents involves some easy straightforward steps.
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Step 1: Fire Pit Area Free of Tripping Hazards
Everyone wants to be close to the fire, for good reason fires are a lot of fun to have. Usually as the time goes around a fire people tend to get closer and closer.
Before even starting the fire clear a six foot area around the fire pit. Why such a large area? Think of it this way if someone trips they need to fall before they would land in the fire.
Clear the area of sticks, rocks, roots, logs, anything else that may be a tripping hazard. If you have little children or they will be coming remember they can trip over a rock the size of your fist or smaller.
Step 2: Decide Where To Pile The Wood For The Campfire
You must have a designated area for piling the wood around a campfire. Failure to have a designated wood pile location will result in wood being placed all around the fire pit. (One child may drop sticks one place and another child another place).
Let everyone know where the wood pile is to be by placing some sticks there first.
There are two locations where to put wood for a campfire: near or far (6 feet away). Below are some pros and cons to each. We usually have the wood further from the fire but on occasion we have had it close.
If the wood pile is next to the campfire:
- Pro: The wood is close and easy to continue to feed the fire
- Con: Embers from the fire can more easily ignite wood pile
- Con: someone may trip over a log right next to the fire
- Con: The wood may be in the way of cooking around the fire
- Con: The wood may prevent more people from getting close to the fire
If the wood pile is six feet from the campfire:
Note: if you do this then put it against a tree or large rock so that once it gets dark it is less likely to be a tripping hazard.
- Pro: Tripping hazard further from fire
- Pro: Less things around the fire so people may cook and gather closer around fire
- Pro: less likely an ember from fire to reach your pile of wood
- Con: if you have collected dead and down branches you have to keep walking back and forth from the pile
- Con: sticks and/or logs can be dropped when going from pile to fire and forget to pick up and someone trips over
Step 3: Cooking Rack For Campfire
I have a love and dislike for attached cooking grates to fire rings. When it comes to cooking with pots and pans over the fire an attached grate is great. When not cooking I don’t like the cooking grates. I have hit my shin too many times on the cooking grate.
Beware of the cooking grate attached to the campfire ring or if you bring one. I have tried to put something large near it so I remember the grate is sticking out but then the item can become a tripping hazard.
All I can say is beware of the cooking grate and let others know at your site when around the fire.
Step 4: Chairs Around The Campfire
Everyone loves to be close to the campfire! Keep chairs as far away as possible and grouped around the campfire.
Meaning don’t have chairs spread out all over like land mines. Have them far enough away that people can easily walk between the fire and the chair when carrying plates or other cooking items.
Step 5: Marshmallow/Hot Dog Sticks Around The Campfire
We all love cooking marshmallows and/or hot dogs around the fire. The safety issue is the sticks involved in cooking them.
Too often the sticks either get left for someone to trip on or they get jabbed into someone accidentally mostly because too many things are close to the fire.
Sticks around a campfire must be pointed down when going to and from the campfire.
We have learned to get rid of all our pointy sticks and now only have the curved cooking sticks mainly. (I do have my favorite hot dog campfire cooker, and I usually don’t let anyone else use it mainly because I can cook 4 hot dogs at a time.)
Step 6: The Actual Campfire Safety Considerations
We’ve talked about safety around the campfire but let’s discuss briefly the campfire itself and how to keep it safe.
- What goes in the fire stays in the fire! Sticks are not to be pulled out of the fire and used as torches etc. Even if something you didn’t want to go in the fire gets thrown in the fire don’t go crazy trying to fish it out as that is when accidents can easily happen.
- Make sure branches and logs fit inside the fire ring and not stacked high. Enough said, but we witnessed a crazy fire in Sequoia National Forest once where some people had a huge log sticking out of the fire burning. Scary!
- Don’t throw any canned things in the fire, they could explode.
Campfires are like a lot of things in life. They are super great to have and enjoy when used responsibly.
I have read studies about how the light of campfires does some amazing good things for our well being. Get out and have a campfire safely and enjoy it!
