How to build each
Cooking fire
- 1Start a normal fire and feed it, then let it burn down until you have a bed of glowing coals rather than tall flames.
- 2Cook over the coals — steady, even heat you can manage; add small wood at the edge to replenish coals without flaring it up.
- 3Keep it small and controlled — a smaller bed of coals is easier to cook on and to put out.
Warming fire
- 1Build a larger lay (teepee or log cabin) with plenty of fuel for flames and radiant heat.
- 2Keep people back at a safe distance from the bigger flames and sparks.
- 3Feed it steadily to keep the heat and light going for as long as you need it.
Either way: prep the site safely, keep it a responsible size, never leave it unattended, and put it out completely when done.
When to use it
- Cooking fire — foil dinners, Dutch oven, grilling, boiling; anything where even heat matters.
- Warming fire — cold nights, drying out, and the social campfire for songs and stories.
- Diagnosing "the fire won't cook right" — usually you're cooking over flames instead of waiting for coals.
Common mistakes & safety
- Cook over coals, not flames. Flames give uneven heat that scorches food outside and leaves it raw inside, and reaching over tall flames burns hands and sleeves.
- A cooking fire should be small — easier to control, easier to cook on, and far easier to fully extinguish.
- Keep people back from a warming fire. Bigger flames throw more sparks and heat — no running near it, and mind clothing and long hair.
- Never cook on a fire or stove inside a tent or enclosure — fire and carbon-monoxide risk.
- Same finish for both: drown, stir, and feel until cold before you leave or sleep.
- Watch the wind — sparks and heat both go where the wind pushes them.
Going deeper
- Coals are concentrated, steady heat. Flames flicker and vary, but a bed of embers radiates evenly — exactly what cooking needs, and the whole reason you wait.
- You can shape a cooking fire. Rake coals into a thick pile for high heat (searing, boiling) and a thin spread for low heat (simmering) — a coal bed is adjustable in a way flames aren't.
- A "keyhole" fire. A big round warming area feeds coals into a narrow keyhole extension you cook over — one fire, two zones, done safely.
Official source
How to build the best campfire — Scouting Magazine →See the cooking-over-a-fire topic for coal management, and confirm fire is allowed before you build.