I’m so excited for this post because making fire is DEFINITELY the most fun area of bugging out, in my opinion. Oh, and it can also be essential for your survival – fire lets you boil water and cook food, it provides warmth and comfort and gives your space cozy vibes, and (bonus) when you can make fire using primitive methods, you’ll feel like a total badass!

I have fire-making supplies in both of my bug-out bags, again with an eye for redundancy. My favorite way to make fire is with a ferro rod, so I keep a ferro rod and striker in each bug-out bag. But there’s no reason to limit yourself to primitive methods – why not pack some Bic lighters? I have a couple of longnecked lighters, and I keep them in Ziploc bags to protect them from the elements. (I also have a bunch of Bic lighters in my personal stores at home. They’re a classic for a reason.)

In addition to the ferro rods and lighters, I also have a couple other items that I put in this category. For light, each bag has a flashlight and some glow sticks. Bag 1 has a Petzl lantern that’s powered by a head lamp, and Bag 2 has some waterproof matches. And both bags have a handful of hand warmers.

I might do a post on this concept later, but here’s the first time I want to mention it: practice, practice, practice! I go out regularly and practice making fires using the ferro rod and striker. Not only is it super fun, but it helps me get that peace of mind that comes from feeling prepared. My preferred tinder is a cotton ball that I’ve rubbed petroleum jelly into. Sometimes I leave it there – shower some sparks down and boom, cotton ball goes up! – but sometimes I’ll take it to the next step and have a tinder bundle ready to ignite, then tiny sticks, then slightly larger sticks, etc.

One of my kids is up for anything, so we’ll go out to the driveway sometimes and practice lighting small fires. I want my kids to know how to use fire responsibly, and it’s a great bonding activity!

Here are a few tips for using a ferro rod:

1. Before you even start, gather everything you’ll need for your fire. Make a tinder bundle from dead grass or other dry materials, and gather sticks from matchstick-sized all the way up to small logs.
2. Smoosh the cotton ball or tinder around so the little fibers are exposed.
3. Hold the striker at a 45-degree angle to the ferro rod.
4. Really dig it in so that you’re not just sliding across the ferro rod – you want to shave off little pieces of metal.
5. Keep the tip of the ferro rod close to the tinder you’re trying to ignite.
6. Don’t give up! Fire can be fickle, and especially when you’re first learning it takes time to get a fire going. Try to be patient with yourself.

I love making fire so much that I actually have a whole fire-making bag, and I’ll do a post here about that someday. That’s my fire setup in the bug-out bags!