Survival Skills: 4 Freaky Fire Starters For Emergencies

Every outdoor enthusiast knows that you need easy burning materials to get your campfire started. For most situations, a handful of dead dry leaves or a bundle of dead grass will do the trick. But what happens when you’re in an emergency and those familiar fire makers aren’t available? You may need to fall back on some the “household” materials you have at hand.  Here’s how you can use these four everyday items for emergency fire starting.  

Duct Tape

Sure, duct tape fixes 1,001 problems, so it shouldn’t be a shock that it helps out with fire making too. Pull off a few feet of DT, crumple it up into a ball, and light it with an open flame. The tape will begin to melt and burn.

Snack Chips

The greasier the better, snack chips are high in fat – which equals a high fuel value. Light a small pile of chips with a match or lighter, and your fire will have plenty to munch on.

Chapstick

Any waxy lip balm offers great flammability. You can insert a string wick into the stick and light it to make an improvised candle. Or you can smear the lip balm onto paper, cotton cloth or some other burnable surface to make that item burn much longer.

Tampons

These commonplace hygiene items are often made from cotton fibers. Pick them apart and you’ll have a great tinder source that can be ignited with a flame or even just a spark.

We’re proud to announce the return of the Survival Hacks class for 2025. If you want to try lighting strange things on fire and learn a hundred other ways to use everyday items for survival - this is the class!

Written by Tim MacWelch  First draft published on outdoorlife.com