Banking a Fire
Tuesday June 13, 2006
- Question: I would like to know exactly what 'banking' a fire means and how it's done. For years I have seen this phrase, 'bank the fire,' and wondered. It sounds like something magical one does to a fire so that it's still smoldering in the morning, thus making the building of the morning fire a snap.
- Answer: Banking a fire is actually nothing more than the name implies. To bank a fire means to build a wall around it out of rocks or stones, or to build the fire next to a rock or dirt wall such that it blocks the wind.
Comments
When you bank a fire, you cover it with ashes or cinders so as to control the rate of burning, thus keeping the fire low but alive.