Fire Building is a Series of Actions Not One
(Choose the Site, Safety, Type, Gather Fuel)
(Choose Firestarter, Tending, Extinguishing)
Learning the process of building a fire correctly allows the maximum result for the minimum effort with the least impact on the environment. Leave No Trace. Safety, responsibility, efficiency, performance, stealth, etc can all play a part in the choice of method and means for your fire.
As simple as the action of starting a fire appears, there really is so much more to it. Depending upon conditions, starting a fire requires a lot of background knowledge in order to be successful. Even the most skilled and practiced people get annoyed or embarrassed when they just can't "get the fire to cooperate".
If you want to teach someone how to do it correctly, effectively, and efficiently, then you must begin at the beginning as they would say.
A friend gave me a hard time about this section because he (an former Boy Scout) said that it is written at Boy Scout training level. At first I was insulted but then after thinking about it two things came to my mind. My take is that the Boy Scouts have an excellent, extremely well honed set of training programs designed on the same basis as I always apply. Not everyone has the same skill set or level of experience. Start at the beginning then work your way up. That way there are no holes in your knowledge base.
