Cotton Ball With Ashes Fire Starter - No Match Needed

[Old Rooster]

Many years ago I was in HAZMAT Incident Commander training and instructor discussed the perils of gasoline vapors. Duh. However, he discussed a Mutual Aid drill of several FD's and old house to burn down for training. The plan was to burn it down in sections to simulate different types of fires. So the FD Chief in charge of drill asked a firefighter to put some gasoline (turns out way too much) down through basement window to simulate furnace fire. However, several questions on protocols and quite a bit of time had gone by. This was a small cottage type house so not really big floor plan. So after lengthy clarifications, the order was given to turn on cameras for training and to begin furnace "attack". So firefighter walks over to basement window, opens, lights road flare and throws it in.

Ah Houston, we seem to have a problem!! Whole house lifted off foundation in huge Whoosh and giant fireball into sky! Nothing but kindling left inside foundation on blazing fire!

He claimed there was zero talk for few seconds then nothing but expletives! Then laughter that was hilarious.!

So his point to us was never underestimate a gasoline spill. No kidding...

Another movie I would have paid to watch!!!!

 

[Muddyboots]

Another movie I would have paid to watch!!!!

I have looked to see if this is out there numerous times but never found it. I did watch some interesting "aftermath" videos of train and truck wrecks with hazmat cargo that was impressive.

 

[bpuff]

If you take Cottonballs and work petroleum jelly into them they make amazingly good tinder. Just one will burn long enough to get damp material burnin. But a lighter or other method to get it burning. Carry the cotton balls in a zip lock.

Old Military trick. Add a metal match and you are 100%

 

[hunter0528]

They must have changed that ignition formula ,years ago there were matches that would ignite off ur fingernail.

Or a Zipper

 

[hunter0528]

So you crush the Fritos up and put them in the unrolled cotton ball?
Then roll it like the video?

Just remember the fritos can not be in the used state.

 

[hunter0528]

Gasoline is good stuff! We used to burn the trash in a barrel with the top cut out. I'd put a little gasoline in through the axe cuts in the bottom (for air), make a little trail, then light the trail and run. It would make a woosh sound and light. One time the match head broke off (lit them on my zipper) and I missed the trail. Mom wouldn't let us take the box of kitchen matches with us. We were given one match. So I ran back to the house and got another match. It was a hot summer day and my trail was gone when I got back. So I added a little more to the air hole and made another trail, just a little longer. I broke the match again... I ran back to the house and got another match. I added some more fuel and added to the trail. I stood back, lit the match and as I turned to run away I dropped it on the trail. There's was a muffled boom. I turned back to look and the burning trash was rising above the trees and scattering all over. There were little fires going in the woods. The chickens were going nuts, mom ran outside and once she saw I was alive and running she wanted to know what was going on. I was running around with a shovel knocking fires down. I explained it to her later. I didn't do that again. We had more room in the can though...

Also know as Boy Scout Water

 

[Bob2650]

I have made fire with most of the primitive methods and the fancy tricks. Generally speaking the more primitive it is the more work it takes. Everyone should learn primitive fire starting methods and, for example, know which wood in your area works best for a fire drill. It is very easy with some combinations and very hard with others.
What I actually carry is a standard Zippo and a 4oz can of lighter fluid. Just about everyone from hardened combat vets to boy scouts recognize this as easy, effective and quick. A winning combination.
If I am in a serious hurry, such as after taking an unplanned bath in ice water during a winter storm I will squirt lighter fluid on my tinder, been there done that. Otherwise that is a serious waste of lighter fluid as the zippo has a very strong flame that works fast by its self.
By "lighter fluid" I refer to the many fuels that work well in a zippo.

 

[Calvin45]

[QUOTE="Bob2650, post: 2798218, member: 112280"
If I am in a serious hurry, such as after taking an unplanned bath in ice water during a winter storm I will squirt lighter fluid on my tender, been there done that.
[/QUOTE]

I know you obviously meant "tinder" and probably got autocorrected and am not trying to be an a-hole or a nitpicker…but dang it I just about spit my coffee out reading this! Had to do a double take.

Squirting lighter fluid on one's "tender" in a hurry to warm up seems like a bad, bad idea!

@Gingerman this seems like your kind of humour. I've been accused (by you) of having a similar brain…just the Canadian version

 

[Bob2650]

[QUOTE="Bob2650, post: 2798218, member: 112280"
If I am in a serious hurry, such as after taking an unplanned bath in ice water during a winter storm I will squirt lighter fluid on my tender, been there done that.

I know you obviously meant "tinder" and probably got autocorrected and am not trying to be an a-hole or a nitpicker…but dang it I just about spit my coffee out reading this! Had to do a double take.

Squirting lighter fluid on one's "tender" in a hurry to warm up seems like a bad, bad idea!

@Gingerman this seems like your kind of humour. I've been accused (by you) of having a similar brain…just the Canadian version
[/QUOTE]
You are quite correct. I will edit my tender error!
My humor is somewhat abnormal but that was just a spelling error.

 

[DoneNOut]

I know you obviously meant "tinder" and probably got autocorrected and am not trying to be an a-hole or a nitpicker…but dang it I just about spit my coffee out reading this! Had to do a double take.

Squirting lighter fluid on one's "tender" in a hurry to warm up seems like a bad, bad idea!

@Gingerman this seems like your kind of humour. I've been accused (by you) of having a similar brain…just the Canadian version

You are quite correct. I will edit my tender error!
My humor is somewhat abenormal but that was just a spelling error.
[/QUOTE]

It beats, Grinder…

 

[Teri Anne]

That is pretty neat.
We always keep a butane lighter in every one of our packs and vehicles. You can fall in a stream, just stuck in a torental rain storm, be completely wet and those lighters always produce a flame with a spin of the flint wheel.

Many years ago, when teaching cold weather survival the military issued some very high quality butane lighters for our survival kits. They performed magnificently until down to about -25 degrees. At temps below -25 their ignition was erratic or non existent. The solution to this issue was to go back to kitchen matches coated with a light coat of paraffin to waterproof them and store them HEAD DOWN in on of those OD Plastic match containers you can buy online at any surplus or sporting goods store. Why store them head down? Because the inside of the top of the container had striker material and if you had then stored head up there was a possibility that the matches could ignite and the container explode in your hand while screwing the cap on or off. I had both the butane lighter, matches and a ball of steel wool in my kits.

Steel wool has a light oil coating on it to keep it from rusting. It is also comparatively speaking a good conductor of electricity for a few seconds. It is also flammable. If you take steel wool, roll it into a loose ball, take and form some leads on each end by simply twisting some of the wire into a contact, somewhat like you dapper Dan's do when curling your stache, then take the two leads and touch them to a 1.5 volt battery the steel wool, now short circuited will heat up red hot in an instant and produce a short term but very hot ignition source that if in contact with tinder will easily start a fire. The trick is 1 - have steel wool. 2 - have a battery. In these modern times having a battery usually is not an issue. We carry flashlights, we have trail cams that have 8 AA batteries and the list goes on. One caution however do not use bare fingers to touch the steel wool to the battery contacts. You will very painfully burn your fingers if you do. I found that if you made your contacts long enough so that you could have your ball of steel wool covered with tinder, the leads outside of the pile of tinder, the battery laid on it's side with the two contacts close to the ends of he batteries if you took a stick and pressed the ends of leads to the battery positive and negative ends ignition occurs, you don't burn your hands and you have just created a fireball to ignite your tinder. It works, feel free to try it, coarser steel wool works better than the real fine type, just do it outdoors on a surface that is not ignitable.

 

[3chester]

If you become too cold, reading some of these fire starter methods, a guy can always put on the snowshoes and walk out to a Super 8.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

What about replacing cotton balls with lint from the dryer.

WHY? Are cotton balls too expensive?

 

[rbuoncri]

What about replacing cotton balls with lint from the dryer.

Has to be actual cotton, not just dryer lint which is a mix.