Fire and safety
How fire is handled at camp
Who watches the fire, when we light and when we don't, how a fire is put out, and how many counselors are with each age group.
License
Kindling is a day camp that is not licensed as child care by the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care.
Adults to children
- 1 adult to 6 children10 to 12 years · Group size: 12
- 1 adult to 8 children13 to 15 years · Group size: 16
Capacity
30
Ages 10 years to 15 years
Staff checks and training
- Background checks
- CPR and first aid
- Medication training
Safety routines
An adult at every fire
Every fire has an adult beside it from the first match to the last cold ash. Campers take turns as the fire watcher, and the watcher's only job is to watch.
Fire only when the county allows it
Central Oregon has fire restrictions in the dry months. We check the county's fire level and the air report every morning. On a restricted day we practice fire lays without lighting, cook on a stove, or move to shelter work.
The fire site
A fire goes in a ring on bare soil, inside a cleared circle, with a bucket of water and a shovel in reach and the wood stacked back from the ring. We look at the site together before anything is lit.
Out means cold
A fire is out when we have poured water on it, stirred it and poured again, and the ashes are cold to the back of an adult's hand. Then the camper who watched checks it too.
Clothing, tools and fuel
Closed-toe boots, long pants and cotton or wool on fire days, with hair tied back. No axes or hatchets: an adult splits the wood before camp. Lighters and matches are handed out by an adult and returned at the end of the block, and no lighter fluid or gasoline comes to camp.
Smoke, heat and storms
When the air is smoky, the fire level is high, or a storm is near, we move indoors for knots, maps and shelter models, or we close and text families before 7:30 a.m.
Sign-in and pickup
An adult on your list signs your camper in and out at the gate. We ask for ID until we know you, and we call you if someone new is coming.
Allergies, medicine and illness
Tell us about allergies and medicine at registration, and we ask what we need privately. A camper with a fever stays home. If a camper feels ill at camp, we call you and a counselor stays with them until you arrive.
Sample details.
The fire level
Three levels that change the day
We read the county's fire level and the air report every morning, and the day follows it.
Fire allowed
Campers light and tend fires at the ring with an adult beside them, and the day follows the plan.
Stove only
When open fires are restricted, we cook on stoves and practice fire lays without lighting them.
No flame, or no outdoors
On the highest fire levels and smoky days, we work indoors on knots, maps and shelter models, or we close.
Ask us how a restricted day works
Call and ask about the fire level, smoke days or pickup.