How to Light a Fire With One Match

If you are short on matches or just can't afford to waste one, learn how to build a very big fire with one match!

Steps

  1. Image titled Light a Fire With One Match Step 1
    1
    Find a suitable fire area. If you do not have a man-made fire pit, clear an area of all flammable material 3 feet (0.9 m) in diameter. Then dig a hole 10–12 inches (25.4–30.5 cm) wide by 6 inches (15.2 cm) deep. This is your fire pit.
  2. Image titled Light a Fire With One Match Step 2
    2
    Find suitable tinder. (Charred cloth, birch bark, dried leaves/grasses, or other airy and fine materials are great. If you can find nothing dry, use bits of your own clothing, the contents of your wallet or purse, or anything which you may have on you which will take fire.)
    1. Other tinder materials:
    2. Dry milkweed fluff (found in the fall)
    3. Paper gum wrappers
    4. Frayed wooden stick
    5. Dried moss or lichen (found on the ground or on rocks)
    6. Pine bark or pine needles (very flammable)
    7. Pine cones
    8. Cotton ball, may have Vaseline, chapstick (it's mostly wax), or alcohol on it to help it burn
    9. Dried leaves or grasses
    10. Waxed paper from food or candy bars
    11. Birthday candles, especially joke candles that don't blow out
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  3. Image titled Light a Fire With One Match Step 3
    3
    Don't use paper matches (the ones that look like thin cardboard). They burn out very easily. Use wooden ones. But if all you have is paper, don't give up; use them but remember they burn out more easily.
  4. Image titled Light a Fire With One Match Step 4
    4
    Light the match firmly but carefully and cup your hand around it.
  5. Image titled Light a Fire With One Match Step 5
    5
    Light the tinder in more than one place. (3 or 4 corners usually work).
  6. Image titled Light a Fire With One Match Step 6
    6
    If it does not burst in to flame but smolders, blow gently but consistently until it does.
  7. Image titled Light a Fire With One Match Step 7
    7
    Put bigger and bigger sticks or leaves on until you have a raging fire with little or no smoke. But be careful to not smother the fire. Add sticks slowly making sure the flame does not get smaller.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    How can I make a fire with cooking matches?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    First, create a pit and place large logs in a square formation as the base. Next, fill the bottom with small and medium sticks. In the center add kindling, such as paper, which you need to then cover with very small sticks. Light the kindling with matches and feed the fire as needed. Be sure to have water and a shovel on hand.
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Warnings

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Things You'll Need

  • wooden matches
  • large stocks of all sizes of fuel (tinder, kindling, small sticks, big sticks, logs)
  • a safe fire pit/spot

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About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 19 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 65,416 times.
55 votes - 77%
Co-authors: 19
Updated: August 10, 2021
Views: 65,416
Categories: Fire Making | Fire Starters
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