Dangerous Done Well: "Playing" with Fire

"Don't play with fire, you might get burned." The old saying does a good job of identifying one risk posed by fire (personal injury), doesn't say much about how to use fire safely.

Fire, as every human ever to exist will attest, is quite useful. It warms us, cooks food, cracks fuels, and roasts marshmallows. It's worth knowing how to safely ignite, use and extinguish fire. 

Today (after a warm-up exercise rolling eggs down the sidewalk (see our flickr for more)) we explored two of the most common means of starting fires: matches and lighters. 

We practiced slow, measured escalation of fuel, and using one fire (a match) to light another (a candle).  The day ended by practicing a classic of risk mitigation: extinguishing a flame with your fingers--after dunking them in water!