Fire Safety:

Before choosing a fire, you need to consider the area you are in. When you build a fire, you always need to make a fire pit/ring to make sure the fire can not spread. If there is not one already, you will need to build one.

There also needs to be plenty of room around the fire cleared of any flammable material like grass or leaves so that nothing can accidentally catch fire. If it is leaves or pine needles, you can make a pile far away from the fire so that once you are done, you can cover over the location after. Before lighting anything on fire, you need to have at least one bucket of water filled and nearby the fire in case it starts to spread. The more the better because in the case of an emergency, it is already nearby.

A Firemaster is required for all campfires. Usually, this is the person that builds the fire too. They are in charge of filling a bucket of water and bringing and maintaining the fire. They are the only ones who can put anything into the fire, or grant permission to put something in. The firemaster is also in charge of putting the fire out after the campfire is over. The firemaster can not leave the fire for any reason unless they designate a different person for the role of firemaster until they come back.

Maintaining a Fire:

A good rule is once something goes into the fire, it does not come out. This will make sure that any partially burned wood does not get pulled out and catch something unintended on fire. You want to avoid adding too much wood at once so that there is not a lot of partially burned wood in the fire

After the Fire:

The best method to put out a fire is to sprinkle a few handfuls of water on the fire, then stir it with a stick and repeat until out. Dumping a whole bucket of water will create a big mess, and may spread the ashes into a larger area making it harder to collect. Keep sprinkling water until there are no longer any hot coals. You can not say the fire is out until you can put your hand on the coals and they feel cold to the touch.