Friday's Thoughts and Other Stuff (Fire and Shelter)

Dear Preppers and Survivalists,

A Bonfire for Holika Dahan (ca 2008)

photograph by

Viraj J. Narkar

Last week, I briefly talked about the importance of you and your family learning to make fire.

Well, ...

Signaling
There are other uses for fire, and one of them is signaling to potential rescuers. That's right, that big smoky fire, the picture from last week, is a great example for showing folks your location, if you're lost during the day.

Of course, letting rescuers know your location at night is a different fire. This fire has lots of flames, so the fire lights up the area, telling everyone that is searching for you ...

HEY, WE'RE OVER HERE!!!

and, even those people that aren't looking for you and your family ; - )


Cooking
Another use is cooking. It seems cooking our food unlocks nutrients, so our bodies can better use the food. The only problem, you and your family have to practice these skills because all those cooking fires you see on t.v. and in the movies are wrong.

That's right, you cook over coals, not the flame.


Heating
When it comes to the subject of fire, most people immediately think 'Keeping Warm.'

But, ...

They forget or don't know; a big, warm fire is a waste of fuel. Fuel that you and your family will have to find to feed the fire, so fires for heating need to be as small as possible. The opposite of a signal fire.


Safety
Needless to say, fire is dangerous. If it gets out of control, fire can destroy everything you own and everybody you love.

So, ... Be Careful

Smokey the Bear (ca 2017)

image by

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Shelter
When it comes to shelter, it's just like a fire. You need to know many simple ideas and a few complex ones to have an appropriate shelter to protect your family from the tough times ahead.

More about that, ... Next week.