4 Tips to Start A Fire
The first time I started a fire, I couldn’t believe the frustration it caused. I fumbled with it until I finally gave up feeling defeated. I mean, really – a fire can start on its own under the right conditions so how could this be so hard?
Here are a few simple tricks to avoid the frustration:
STORAGE. Store your wood in a dry place with good air flow. Because homes have such dry air in the cooler seasons it’s best to bring wood in for your next fire a couple of days early, especially if your wood has been stored outside where the air is damp.
KINDLING. A solid base of dry kindling is the single most important part of starting a fire. Take a good handful of dry kindling and put it on the grate before placing your logs on top. Even gas starter fireplaces need a kindling base when burning 3/4 seasoned or wet wood.
SMALL PIECES. Use logs that aren’t very thick to get the fire started, then add the bigger logs once you have a good coal base.
FIRESTARTERS. If you don’t have a gas starter, firestarters are the hassle free way to start a fire. They typically burn for 5-15 minutes (depending on the brand) which is long enough to catch your kindling on fire. Light the firestarter and place it under the grate that has your kindling base and in 5-10 minutes you’ll have a beautiful fire roaring.
Remember – Oak will be a harder variety to light so you’ll want an extra kindling base to get it started.