The 12 C's of Survival Blog Series - Combustion

Combustion - The Fire That Keeps You Alive

When people think of survival, fire is usually one of the first things that comes to mind—and for good reason. Fire can mean warmth, cooked food, clean water, light, protection, and even morale. The ability to create and sustain fire—Combustion—isn’t just a primitive skill, it’s a critical pillar of survival. Without it, even the best gear may fall short.

Why Combustion Matters

In Survival, fire is more than just a flame—it’s a lifeline. Here's why Combustion makes the list of essential survival priorities.

• Warmth & Hypothermia Prevention: Fire helps you maintain your core temperature in cold, wet, or windy environments. Hypothermia can kill faster than dehydration.

• Water Purification: Boiling water remains one of the most reliable methods to kill pathogens in the backcountry.

• Cooking Food: Whether it’s fresh game, foraged edibles, or rehydrating freeze-dried meals, fire makes calories more digestible and safer.

• Signaling: Smoke and flame are some of the most basic and visible forms of emergency signaling.

• Tool Making & Repairs: Fire can help harden wood tools, melt synthetic cordage, or even sterilize metal.

• Morale Booster: A fire offers psychological comfort, especially when darkness and doubt creep in.

Key Combustion Tools

Every survival kit should include redundant fire-starting methods. A wise approach includes at least three of the following:

• Ferro Rod (Fire Steel): Long-lasting and reliable in wet or windy conditions. Works with proper technique and good tinder. Produces a HIGH HEAT spark. My personal preference is the Lightning Strike. This device uses a barrel to direct the sparks exactly where you want them, the striker is attached to the rod so you don't lose it, and it comes with emergency tinder tabs in the handle. When looking for your own make sure your able to operate the device with one hand or limited dexterity due to cold and fatigue.

• Lighters (Bic or Butane): Lightweight, instant flame, ease of use and priced cheap. Keep in waterproof containers and rotate periodically. These are great to use due to the sustained open flame, however, they are very limited in the wind. You also have to worry about running out of fuel.

• Waterproof Matches: Backup ignition source, ideally stored in sealed tubes. My preference are the Titan Stormproof Matches from UCO. They come in a water proof container, the matches will relight after getting wet, and the burn for around 25 seconds.

Now there are quite a few other types fire starting methods you can use. The 3 above are my preference for my personal kits. Here are a list of a few other types.

• Magnifying Lens: Works well in sunny conditions—no fuel required. If you live in the PNW this only works a couple months or so throughout the year!

• Rolling Striker: These throw a decent amount of sparks but they aren't the easiest to use or direct and for most designs there isn't a way to replace the flint and only last a finite amount of time.

• Flint & Steel: Having a flint and steel kit is really fun and is a cool way to start fires in one of the most primitive ways. The two main drawdowns to these in my opinion are the inability to direct the spark as well as the other options and the LOW HEAT spark it produces. You'll be hard pressed to light damp tinder or some of the commercial paraffin wax coated tinder's. For me this goes into my pack only in the summer and as a 4th option along with some charcloth.

The Five Elements of Combustion

To build a reliable fire, you need more than just a spark—you need to understand the basic components of combustion. Every sustainable fire is made up of five essential parts: Ignition, Tinder, Kindling, Fuel, and Oxygen. Miss one, and your fire may never come to life—or die out when you need it most.

Ignition

This is your spark—your flame, your heat source. It’s what initiates the process. Whether you're using a lighter, ferro rod, match, or magnifying lens, ignition needs to deliver enough concentrated heat to catch your tinder. Your choice of ignition needs to be compatible to your tinder. But ignition alone won’t sustain a fire—it just starts the chain reaction.

Tinder

Tinder is the first material to catch that initial spark or flame. It must be dry, fine, and highly combustible. Think: cotton balls, dry grass, birch bark, wood shavings, or even commercial fire tabs. Tinder doesn’t burn long—but it burns hot and fast enough to light your kindling. Just like your ignition source I recommend carrying 3 types of tinder. In my kit I carry ~50 Petroleum Jelly covered Cotton Balls sealed in a zip lock bag, SOL Fire Tabs or similar paraffin covered compressed cotton bars/tabs, and saw dust/wood shavings either soaked in lighter fluid or paraffin wax. All of these can be lit by any of my ignition sources.

Kindling

Once your tinder is burning, you need kindling to build a flame into a fire. Kindling consists of small twigs, sticks, or splinters of wood—roughly pencil-sized or smaller. It catches quickly from your tinder and helps build heat to ignite your larger fuel. The trick here is progression: start small, gradually increase size. When teaching my Emergency Fire Starting and Heating Class the biggest reason student fail to make a viable fire is they under estimate how much kindling they actually need. It is not practical to carry kindling when hiking or in your survival bag. This means you will need to collect it before starting the fire. Collect or make enough kindling that you can fill at least two 5 gallon buckets, this should be a good start. The key to this is getting a large hot flame going so you can get your fuel to burn.

Fuel

Fuel is your long-term burn source—the logs, branches, or dense wood that sustain your fire over time. Choose dry, seasoned wood whenever possible. Wet or green wood can smother a fire, while softwoods burn fast and hot, and hardwoods burn longer and more steadily. Arrange your fuel strategically to allow airflow and prevent smothering the fire. Again, don't under estimate how much fuel you'll need to make it through the night.

Oxygen

Often overlooked, oxygen is just as critical as the materials you’re burning. Fire needs airflow to breathe. Smothering your fire with too much fuel too soon—or building it in a poorly ventilated area—will choke the flame. Always build your fire in a way that allows oxygen to flow freely, and pay attention to wind direction when lighting and maintaining it.

Building A Fire

Pick Your Site

Make sure the site you select for your fire is not directly on vegetation, thick layers of pine needle, moss mats, and tree roots can burn undergrown and lead to forest fires. Allows insure your fire site is close enough to your shelter to provide heat and allows for adequate air flow.

Gather Your Materials

Before striking a spark or lighting anything, gather everything you’ll need. You don’t want to be scrambling for sticks once the tinder is lit. Make sure everything is within reach.

• Tinder – dry, fibrous material (cotton balls with petroleum jelly, birch bark, dry grass, cedar bark, etc.)

• Kindling – small sticks about the size of matchsticks to pencils (dry twigs or split wood shavings)

• Fuel – larger pieces of wood (wrist-thick and larger), preferably dry and seasoned

• Ignition source – lighter, ferro rod, or match

Build Your Tinder Bundle

A good fire starts with a solid tinder bundle:

• Loosely ball or nest your dry tinder material into a bundle about the size of a softball.

• If using fibrous material like cedar bark or jute twine, fray it to expose more surface area.

• Place your tinder bundle at the center of your fire site, ideally on dry ground or a piece of bark to keep it off damp soil.

Build a Log Cabin Fire Lay

• Place two small fuel sticks (wrist-sized) parallel on either side of the tinder bundle—these form your foundation.

• Lay two more sticks across the first two, forming a small square around the tinder (think Lincoln Logs).

• Inside this “cabin,” lean your kindling upright like teepee poles, surrounding but not smothering the tinder.

• Continue stacking small fuel logs around the outside of the “cabin,” gradually increasing the size as you build up.

• Leave a gap or opening on the windward side so air can feed the fire and you have space to ignite the tinder.

Light the Tinder

• Use your ignition source to light the driest, fluffiest part of the tinder bundle.

• Shield it from wind while still allowing oxygen flow.

• Once lit, gently blow on the tinder to encourage a flame—don’t blow too hard or you’ll smother it.

• Let the flame catch and grow into the surrounding kindling. You’ll start hearing pops and crackles as the fire builds heat.

Feed the Fire: Add Fuel Gradually

• Once the kindling is burning well, start adding slightly larger sticks, keeping the structure open for airflow.

• Gradually add your fuel logs one at a time, being careful not to crush or smother the flame.

• Arrange fuel so flames can continue to rise and oxygen can circulate—maintain that log cabin shape or adjust to a teepee as the fire grows.

Maintain and Use the Fire

• Add fuel as needed, but always mind airflow.

• Use flat rocks or a grill over coals for cooking.

• Keep a safe perimeter and have water or dirt nearby to control or extinguish the fire.

Everyday Preparedness

Fire isn’t just for backcountry survival. It matters in blackouts, road emergencies, and natural disasters. Think about storing fire-starting gear:

• In your Get Home Bag

• In the glove box

• In your home emergency bin

• As part of your EDC (Everyday Carry)

Wrap-Up: Carry Fire, Carry Life

Combustion isn’t about matches and lighters—it’s about capability. It’s about knowing that when everything else fails, you can make fire. You can boil water, warm yourself, cook food, and signal for rescue. That’s power. That’s peace of mind.

Up Next: Clothing – Your First Layer of Shelter

Don’t miss the next installment, where we cover how your clothing system can protect you from heat, cold, sun, and more.

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