Starting a Fire

Safety first

• Location: outdoors or in a very well-ventilated area only. Never inside a sealed room.
• Surface: concrete, bare earth, or metal. Never on carpet, wood floors, or dry grass.
• Clear the area: nothing flammable within 2 metres
• Keep water nearby: a bucket or bottle to douse the fire when done

Method 1: Lighter or matches (simplest)

1. Gather tinder: crumpled newspaper, dry leaves, cotton balls, cardboard strips
2. Build a small nest of tinder
3. Add small sticks or wood splinters on top in a tepee shape
4. Light the tinder from below
5. Once burning, add progressively larger pieces of wood
6. Do not smother it; fire needs airflow

Method 2: Gas stove igniter + cotton

If your gas stove has a broken burner but the igniter clicks:

1. Hold cotton wool or a tissue near the igniter
2. Click until it sparks and catches
3. Transfer the burning cotton to your fire pit
4. Build up from there

Method 3: Battery + steel wool (emergency)

1. Take a 9V battery (from a smoke detector or toy) or two AA batteries in series
2. Touch the terminals to fine steel wool (available at hardware stores for sanding)
3. The steel wool will glow and catch fire within seconds
4. Transfer to your tinder nest

Fuel sources in Pakistan

• Dry wood: from trees, old furniture, construction scraps
• Charcoal: widely available from any roadside seller
• Cow dung cakes (upley): traditional fuel, burns slow and steady
• Paper and cardboard: burns fast, good as starter but not sustained fuel
• Cooking oil: can be used to soak a rag as a fire starter (use sparingly, flares up)

Putting it out

1. Let the fire burn down to coals
2. Pour water over the coals
3. Stir the ashes and pour more water
4. Feel with the back of your hand from a safe distance. If still warm, add more water.
5. Never leave a fire unattended