Sacramento Campfire Safety Tips for the 2017 Camping Season

6/20/2017 (Permalink)

A safe fire pit will make for a safer trip, for your family and the forest.

Tips to stay safe this camping season, from SERVPRO of North Highlands & Rio Linda

Even though we aren’t in a drought, it still the dry season. It is always important to stay safe no matter the conditions when making a fire, for your safety and the safety of others. Here are some safety tips on how to pick a spot, prepare your fire, and extinguish it properly. 

How to Pick a Campfire Spot

1. DO NOT build a campfire if the campground, area or event rules prohibit them.
2. DO NOT build a campfire in hazardous, dry conditions.
3. Find Out if the campground has an existing fire ring or fire pit.
4. If there is not an existing fire pit, and pits are allowed, choose a site at least 15 feet from tent walls, shrubs, trees or other flammable objects. Beware of low-hanging branches.
5. Choose an open, level location away from fuels such as logs, brush or decaying leaves.
6. Take wind, and its direction, into account when choosing the site. Choose a spot that’s protected from gusts.

How to Prepare your Campfire Pit

1. Clear a 10-foot-diameter area around the site. Remove any grass, twigs, leaves and firewood.
2. Dig a pit in the dirt, about a foot deep.
3. Circle the pit with rocks.

How to Build Your Campfire

1. Make sure you have a source of water, a bucket and shovel nearby at all times.
2. Gather three types of wood from the ground always. Never cut whole trees or branches, dead or alive. Live or fresh materials won’t burn, and you’ll be damaging the forest. Dead standing trees often are homes for birds and other wildlife.
1. Tinder: Small twigs and dry leaves grass and needles.
2. Kindling: Sticks smaller than 1″ around.
3. Fuel: Larger pieces of wood. Keep these stacked upwind, away from the fire.
3. Loosely pile a few handfuls of tinder in the center of the fire pit.
4. Ignite the tinder with a match or lighter.
5. Wait until the match is cold, and discard it into the fire.
6. Add kindling and fuel, the larger firewood, as it grows and to keep it going.
7. Keep the fire small and under control.

How to Extinguish your Campfire

1. Allow the wood to burn completely to ash, if possible.
2. Pour plenty of water on the fire. Drown ALL material, not just the visibly red material. Pour until hissing sounds stop.
3. If you do not have water, stir dirt or sand into the embers with a shovel to bury the fire.
4. With your shovel, scrape any remaining sticks and logs to remove any embers. Make sure that no embers are exposed and still smoldering.
5. Continue adding water, dirt or sand and stirring with a shovel until all material is cool.
6. Remember: If it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to leave. Pack it in, Pack it out. It is your responsibility to pack out everything that you packed in, including any trash.

Between professional fire damage services, or fire safety tips. SERVPRO of North Highlands & Rio Linda is here to provide 24/7 fire damage services. Call us at (916) 991-1522, or visit our website for more information.