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Troop 308 · 60 min meeting plan
Fire-Building Quad
Four fire-lay styles (teepee, lean-to, log-cabin, upside-down) built and lit with one match each. Tinder, kindling, and fuel are sorted before lighting. Held in the church fire ring (or a portable fire pan).
Why this format
The Tenderfoot fire requirement is one of the few rank skills where a Scout has to actually produce a result — a fire that burns. Practicing four lay styles back-to-back is the fastest way to teach the variables: airflow, fuel size, wind, moisture.
Run the meeting outside in a safe fire ring or in a portable steel fire pan on gravel. Each patrol builds one lay, lights with one match, and keeps it burning long enough to boil a cup of water. Then they put it cold-out before rotating.
60-minute meeting plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 0–10 min | Safety brief, demo of tinder / kindling / fuel sorting, Firem'n Chit review |
| 10–20 min | Patrols sort their fuel pile into 3 bins |
| 20–50 min | Two 15-min lay rotations: each Scout lights at least one lay |
| 50–55 min | Cold-out demo: drown, stir, drown, stir, hand-check |
| 55–60 min | Debrief, sign off, restock fuel for next meeting |
The four lays
| Lay | Shape | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teepee | Cone of kindling around tinder bundle | Quick warmth, light wind | Collapses if built too tight; airflow at the base |
| Lean-to | Long stick + kindling leaning against it over tinder | Wind from one direction | Place windbreak so wind feeds the tinder, not blows past it |
| Log cabin | Stacked logs in a square with teepee inside | Long-burn cooking fire | Don't pack too tight — needs gaps for airflow |
| Upside-down (top-down) | Logs on bottom, kindling middle, tinder on top | Long unattended burn, low smoke | Counter-intuitive; teach why it works (flame falls down) |
Per-Scout scorecard
| Skill | Demonstrated |
|---|---|
| Sorted tinder / kindling / fuel correctly | ☐ |
| Built a lay that lit on the first match | ☐ |
| Kept fire burning long enough to boil water | ☐ |
| Cold-out check: drown, stir, hand-check | ☐ |
| Stated 3 fire-safety rules from Firem'n Chit | ☐ |
Supplies
| Item | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Fire pan or established ring | 1 |
| Tinder (cotton balls + petroleum jelly, fatwood, dryer lint) | 1 bag |
| Kindling (pencil-thick dry sticks) | 1 bundle/patrol |
| Fuel wood (wrist-thick split) | 1 bundle/patrol |
| Strike-anywhere matches | 1 box/patrol |
| Water buckets (full) | 2 |
| Shovel + leather gloves | 1 set |
| Cup of water (the boil test) | 1/patrol |
Sources
- Scouting America — Tenderfoot Rank Requirements (2025)
- Scouting America — Firem'n Chit
- Guide to Safe Scouting — fires policy