The purpose of the FIRE CRAFT PROFICIENCY program is teach scout youth necessary skills for creating fire lays for a wide variety of campfire activities such as survival, Leave No Trace (LNT), cooking and ceremonial purposes with the preference on matchless fire starting techniques. PROGRAM PRE-REQUISITES This Fire Craft Proficiency program is considered a complementary extension of Scouts Canada Match and Fire Permit and Cooking Jumpstart program. It is highly recommended that any scout who wishes to participate in this Fire Craft Proficiency program should have gained the following experience: 1. Secured the Scouts Canada Match and Fire Permit. a. (using the Carleton Area Match and Fire Permit Program guidelines) 2. Have familiarity with Scouts Canada Cooking Jumpstart program. a. (Elements of the Fire Craft Proficiency program contain complementary information to the Scouts Canada Troop Cooking Jumpstart program). FIRE CRAFT PROFICIENCY BACKGROUND The Fire Craft Proficiency program contains eight elements. There is one development component called the Fire Starter kit, five executable elements, an assessment sheet where progress throughout the Fire Craft Proficiency program can be tracked and finally a list of program activity ideas and Patrol challenges which can help kick start this program in your Scout Troop. FIRE STARTER KIT The development component is a Fire starter kit the youth must build; with the contents developed from the experiences that are drawn from each of the 5 executable elements. The Fire Starter kit is built around a Fire Striker and a variety of resources which provide capability to ignite each fire lay. FIRE LAY ELEMENTS The five executable elements are hands on practical activities. Scouts shall receive instruction from scout leaders in the art of fire lay construction from natural resources in both winter and non-winter seasons with a preference for matchless ignition techniques. A unique name has been given to each activity which defines the level of proficiency the youth can identify with and use for self motivation. These hands on practical activities cover the following: Identification of at least 10 different natural fuels that can be used for fire lay construction and ignition Development of a Fire starter kit with requirements for core and optional components Construction of multiple styles of fire lays for LNT, Cooking and A Frame Fire lay construction for winter, non-winter seasons and inclement weather Ignition techniques using the elements of your fire starter kit A detailed description and set of requirements for each Fire Lay program is provided in this program. ASSESSMENT SHEET A progress tracking sheet is provided. This allows the Scout leader and youth to track the levels of proficiency the scout youth has attained.
AWARD SYSTEM An award system has been developed for the Fire Craft Proficiency Program. The award consists of a slice of polished wood upon which colored matches can be mounted. As the youth achieves each level of proficiency a colored match is awarded by the scout leader. PROGRAM OVERVIEW A short program overview is listed below: FIRE STARTER KIT Scout youth are encouraged to develop a Fire Starter kit for outdoor activities. Scout youth shall learn how to construct their fire kit from the following activities: 1. Gather natural fire starter fuel found in the environment 2. Assemble fire starter fuels using man-made techniques such as CHAR CLOTH, cotton balls and dryer lint. FIRE LAY PROGRAMS 1. Matchless Woodsman: This challenge shall require Scout youth to learn how to forage in the environment and identify and use 10 natural materials that can be used for constructing a fire lay. The youth shall build two fires using different fire lays and ignite each using matchless techniques. Award: Green Match 2. Survivalist: This is a time based challenge that requires Scout youth to construct a small fire lay from natural resources and then ignite it in a matchless manner. The fire must be sufficiently large enough and lit long enough kept the fire alight for at sufficient time to generate warmth for survival or cooking activities. Award: Yellow Match 3. LNT: This challenge focuses on Leave No Trace fire lays. This is a time based challenge that requires Scout youth to construct two different LNT fire lays from natural resources in both winter and nonwinter seasons. The ignition method is optional and the fire lay must last long enough to cook one small item of food. Award: Blue Match 4. Supreme: This is the largest fire lay challenge and it is broken into two parts. The first part requires Scout youth to build two fire lays that suits cooking meals for both single person and patrol based meals. The cooking fires are time based and are to be started in a matchless manner. The second part of this challenge requires the scout youth to build fire lay that is to be used in a formal campfire in which the youth will receive this award. The formal campfire has a time challenge and must be started in a magical manner. Award: Red Match 5. Golden Match: This challenge requires the youth to make a beverage for their favorite leader. This challenge has two components and each is time based. The first time challenge is to build a small fire lay for
making the beverage and once inspected, the beverage has to be made in a shorter time frame. This challenge is awarded after the favorite scout leader approves the taste of the beverage. Award: Golden Match
PROGRAM HIERARCHY The following table identifies the order in which the Fire Craft proficiency testing should take place. Proficiency Level Woodsman Survivalist LNT Supreme Survivalist Yes LNT Yes Supreme Yes Golden Match Yes Yes Matchless Woodsman All youth must first achieve the Matchless Woodsman Fire Craft Proficiency level. This level is considered the foundation upon which all other Fire Craft proficiency challenges are based as the youth will experience the following: 1. Knowledge on how to identify natural fuel sources in the outdoor environment 2. How to create an A Frame fire lay using tinder and kindling 3. Matchless ignition using Fire Steel /Flint strikers. Golden Match All youth who wish to take the Golden Match must achieve BOTH the Matchless Woodsman Fire and LNT Craft Proficiency levels. The reason for this additional requirement is that the Golden Match challenge may take the format of a small fire lay in a non-formal campfire location and as such the scout youth should be taught essential Leave No Trace (LNT) Minimize Campfire Impact techniques.
AWARD DESIGN This program makes no preference to the kinds of awards that scout youth should be given for completing each of the different levels in the program. Instead, some ideas are presented here for you to consider. You should of course make your own award system. IDEA #1: WOODEN PLAQUE WITH MATCHES This is the Fire Craft Proficiency award that has been designed for this program. illustrations indicate how the design is fabricated. The following
IDEA #2: BEADS ON A PIN Using a 1 inch Safety pin award a colored PONY bead for each proficiency level that has been gained. IDEA #3: LEATHER STRIP Use a three inch strip of thin leather and cut a single or double slot in the top. Stamp a symbol in the leader strip for each proficiency award that is gained. A single slot (allows a shirt button to be used or a safety pin to be used. A double slot allows a safety pin to be used. Wear as you see fit. Examples are: Attach to your scout hat. Attach to your Campfire blanket Attach to your scout uniform (temporary attachment for training activities as follows)