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Fires...

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Tinder

 

Tinder is any kind of material that will take very little effort to light. Good tinder will only need a spark to ignite it. Some examples are;.

Birch bark, dried grasses, fine wood shavings, cotton fluff, bird down and waxed paper

Pine needles, pulverized fir cones and the inner bark from cedar trees

Dried fungi (apparently!), scorched or charred linen/cotton

Dry nests of mice and birds are rather good (CARE must be taken. They must be abandoned and free of life!)

 

There is just one major thing to remember - Your tinder must be dry.

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Kindling

 

I would class kindling as the next step up from tinder. It is the wood that you use to raise the fire from the (short burning) tinder so that eventually you can use larger pieces of fuel. The best kindling is small, dry twigs (soft woods are preferable as they flare up quickly)..

 

Those woods that contain resins burn readily and make firelighting easier. The only problem with soft woods is that they burn fast! Make sure you have a plentiful supply to hand, arranged in different 'grades' according to size..

 

I would suggest that the smallest kindling grade be thinner than a matchstick for certain, working up to the thickness of two or so matches. The thinner and smaller the better. I'll say it again, as it is important, go and get some more kindling now before you even think about starting the fire. There is nothing worse than starting a small flame and lacking the fuel to keep it going..

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Wood

 

You must use dry wood to start the fire intially. At (almost all) campsites do NOT take any wood from any living tree/bush. Anyway, you do not want this type of wood, you want dry deadwood that has fallen from the trees naturally. Only when the fire is going well can you effectively begin to use wet and green wood. If you cannot snap the twigs/small branches with ease then it is not dead. If it is pliable (easily bends) and looks green (inside and out) then it is still 'living' and no good in the early stage of the fire..

 

As a general rule, the heavier the wood the more heat it will give. Mixing green and dry wood makes a long lasting fire which could be useful if you wanted an overnight fire..

 

Hard woods - such as hickory, beech or oak burn well, giving off great heat and last for a long time as coals. They will keep a fire going overnight..

 

Soft Woods - These tend to burn fast and can give off sparks. The worst woods for 'sparking' are; cedar, alder, hemlock, spruce, pine, chestnut and willow..

 

Remember that damp wood IS sometimes useful. Damp wood will smoke, and the smoke will keep off flies and mosquitoes. Damp wood will also burn longer so that it 'keeps the fire in'..

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Animal Droppings

 

Ok, ok, not very common in scouting I will admit, but in the interests of completeness;.

 

Animal droppings can make excellent fuel. These are used the world over, in deserts (where there is little other fuel to hand!) and by 'backwoodsmen' everywhere. Dry the droppings thoroughly for a good, smokeless fire. You can also mix them with grass, moss and leaves to make solid fuel pellets.

 

Peat

 

This is often found in well-drained moorland. Its is soft and springy and may be found exposed on the edges of rocky outcrops. It looks black and fibrous. It can easily be cut into shape and can be stacked like bricks to dry. Once dry it makes excellent fuel. Be careful though, it needs good ventilation when burning..

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Animal Fats

 

Animal fats (with a wick in the middle especially) can be used in suitable ventilation as a good fire, in particular when used as a stove in a tin can. In the polar regions, animal fat place on a support of bone is sometimes the only available fuel..

 

Shales

 

Shales (a type of layered rock) are often rich in oil and burn readily. Note that some sands also contain oil, they burn with a thick oily smoke which gives off good heat (and also makes a good signal fire!).

 

The webmaster does NOT recommend its use in Scouting..

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Coal

 

Everyone knows about coal as a fuel. It can actually be found on the surface in certain areas of the globe (for example the northern tundra). Simply to use, just place it on the fire!.

 

Oils

 

Oils are generally very combustible. One of the hottest fires possible can be made from a oil and water mixture. Pierce a small hole in the base of a tin can for each liquid and fit a tapered stick into it to govern the flow. The oil and water should run down a trough on to a metal plate. Pulling the stick out increase the flow, pushing it in will reduce the flow. A mixture of 2-3 drops water: 1 drop oil , dropped onto a small fire on the plate will burn almost anything. .

 

WARNING: This type of fire can be dangerous. The mixture is highly volatile when heated..

 

The webmaster does NOT recommend its use in Scouting..

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Fireplace

 

The fireplace needs to be prepared carefully. A fireplace is needed to control the fire. If you are not careful the fire can get out of control and become very dangerous..

 

Firstly you will need to decide upon its location. You will need a site that is sheltered, especially during high winds. You will also need to take into account the layout of the rest of the camp (see campsite - layout section for more details). Do not place your fire at the base of tree's, stumps or rocks. Once you have chosen your site, clear the surrounding area to form a wide circle of bare earth (clear all twigs, leaves etc.) around 2m (6 ft ) across..

 

If the ground is too wet to place the fire on directly, build a small platform from a layer of green logs covered with a layer of earth (or you could use a layer of stones. Do not use stones from a river bed/ bank. They will crack and explode when heated.).

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Temple Fire

 

A common fireplace method that is used widely is the temple fire. This consists of a raised platform, built from green timber (or unnatural materials like metal girders!). Simply drive four uprights into the ground and lash crosspieces at the top. Now place a layer of green logs across the top and cover with several inches of earth. You can now light the fire upon this (and has the added bonus of being more comfortable to deal with at waist height)..

 

If you make two of the diagonally opposite uprights longer then you can place a piece across joining them to form a simple pot rod or spit..

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Notes on rocks

 

Avoid placing wet rocks or porous rocks near fires. In particular never use those that have been under the water near a fire. They may explode when heated..

 

Avoid slates and softer rocks, and if unsure, test the rocks by banging them together. Do not use any that crack, sound hollow or flake..

 

If the rocks contain any moisture, then as they heat the water expands and can make the stone explode. This will produce flying fragments of stone which will obviously be very dangerous.

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Sharing your information

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Young people and other data subjects

We will normally only share personal information with adult volunteers holding an appointment in the 22nd Wimbledon Scout Group.

 

Adult volunteers

We will normally only share personal information with adult volunteers holding appropriate appointments within the line management structure of The Scout Association for the 22nd Wimbledon Scout Group as well as with The Scout Association Headquarters as independent data controllers.

 

All data subjects

We will however share your personal information with others outside of 22nd Wimbledon Scout Group where we need meet a legal obligation. This may include The Scout Association and its insurance subsidiary (Unity Insurance Services), local authority services and law enforcement.  We will only share your personal information to the extent needed for those purposes.

 

We will only share your data with third parties outside of the organisation where there is a legitimate reason to do so.

 

We will never sell your personal information to any third party.

 

Sometimes we may nominate a member for national awards, (such as Scouting awards or Duke of Edinburgh awards) such nominations may require us to provide contact details and award nomination details, such as citations to that organisation. We may also share data on award nominees for National Honours Awards, including the same data as above.

 

Where personal data is shared with third parties, we will seek assurances that your personal data will be kept confidential and that the third party fully complies with the GDPR and DPA 2018.

 

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We generally store personal information in the following ways:

 

The online membership system of The Scout Association. This system is used for the collection and storage of adult volunteer personal data and training.

 

Online Scout Manager - is the online membership system of Online Youth Manager, this system is used for the collection and storage of youth member personal data.  https://www.onlinescoutmanager.co.uk/security.html

 

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In addition, adult volunteers may hold some personal data on local spreadsheets/databases.

 

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Paper records for events may be used rather than relying on secure digital systems, as often the events are held where internet and digital access will not be available.  We will minimise the use of paper to only what is required for the event.

 

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How we provide this privacy notice

A link to this website page is provided to those whose data is being processed by us.  A printed version is also available on request.

 

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Your rights

As a Data Subject, you have the right to object to how we process your personal information.  You also have the right to access, correct, sometimes delete and restrict the personal information we use.  In addition, you have a right to complain to us and to the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.org.uk).

 

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR and DPA 2018, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

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  • The right to erasure – this means that you have the right to request that we delete any personal data we have about you. There are some exceptions, for example, some information will be held by The Scout Association for legal reasons.

  • The right to restrict processing – if you think that we are not processing your data in line with this privacy notice then you have the right to restrict any further use of that data until the issue is resolved.

  • The right to data portability – this means that if you ask us we will have to share your data with you in a way that can be read digitally – such as a pdf. This makes it easier to share information with others.

  • The right to object – you can object to the ways your data is being used.

  • Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling – this protects you in cases where decision are being made about you based entirely on automated processes rather than a human input, it’s highly unlikely that this will be used by us.

 

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For more information on Google Analytics cookies, see the official Google Privacy information page.

 

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Who to contact

If you have any queries relating to this Privacy Notice or our use of your personal data, please contact us by emailing the Group Lead Volunteer, Graham Fairclough at gsl@22nd.org.uk

 

Version number and date of the last review

Version 1 January 2025

 

 

 

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Charity numbers: 306101 (England and Wales) and SC038437 (Scotland).
Registered address: The Scout Association, Gilwell Park, Chingford, London, England E4 7QW

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