Tepee Fire Lay

Found in the 6th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook.

Tepee Fire Lay. The tepee fire lay is good for boiling and frying in pots and pans: Place a large handful of tinder on the ground in the middle of your fire site. Push a stick into the ground , slanted over the tinder. Then lean a circle of kindling sticks against the slanting stick, with their tips together like the poles of an Indian tepee, and with a “door” toward the windward side for draft.

To light the fire, crouch in front of the fire lay with your back to the wind. strike a match. Turn it in such a way that the tiny flame licks up some of the matchstick. Let it burn into a real flame while you cup your hands around it for protection. Now touch the flame to the tinder close to the ground.

It caught! And a few minutes later, the tinder has ignited the kindling. Let the kindling get a good start. Then feed the fire from the downwind side, first with thin pieces of fuel wood, then gradually with thicker pieces. Continue feeding until the fire has reached the size you want.