How to Make a Fire with a FlashLight

This post was last updated on July 1st, 2021 at 08:35 am

how to light a fire with a flashlightMaking a fire using a flashlight is a fairly delicate procedure. You will need a flashlight that uses the older style bulb. An LED flashlight wont work for this. Notice the bulb in the corner of the picture. This particular flashlight uses large D batteries and has a magnifying lens.  A fire can also be lit using the D batteries.

Make The Preparations

You will need to break the flashlights bulb very carefully to avoid breaking the filament. It is a good idea to take the bulb out of the light before attempting. Put your bulb in between two rocks and push with very light consistent pressure. It is best to try to break the tip of the bulb and break the rest away using a small pair of pliers or a knife. You could rub the tip of the bulb on a rock to wear the glass down.  If the filament is broken you will be SOL, so don’t break it…

Once you have gained access to the filament inside the bulb the hard part is over. Now you will need to find some easily burned fire starting material. Lint from clothing works, you can also use dried grass, or many types of bark will also work well.

​Collect everything you will need to grow the fire before even attempting to light it. You will need some small wood for tinder, some more grass and bark might come in handy as well. Don’t forget some larger sticks to put on there after all of the smaller stuff is burning.

​Lighting the fire

Take your small lint (or whatever easily lit item you have) and hold it in your hand. Turn your flashlight on and gently touch it to the filament. Not too hard, or it will break!

It should start to smoke and burn almost immediately. You will probably only get one quick flash of fire before the filament breaks. After that you will have to improvise. You cans still get it to burn sometimes with a broken filament by touching the 2 prongs that are holding the filament together. Once you get that burning, transfer it to your smaller tinder and proceed as you would with any fire.