Editing 3114: Building a Fire

{{comic
| number    = 3114
| date      = July 11, 2025
| title     = Building a Fire
| image     = building_a_fire_2x.png
| imagesize = 671x311px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = That was quicker than usual! The cabin's sprinkler system often makes it really hard to keep anything lit.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Please add sprinklers to the page so that it doesn’t burn down. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[[Megan]] is demonstrating to [[Cueball]] how to build a campfire. She says she's going to use the "log cabin" method, which is a common [https://www.cabinlife.com/articles/the-5-best-campfire-lays-and-how-to-build-them/ method of laying out fuel for a small fire]. The concept is that sticks of wood are placed in layers, with each layer consisting of two sticks placed parallel to one another, with a gap between them. Each subsequent layer is placed perpendicular to the first, so that the sticks bridge the gap in the layer below. This creates an open space in the center in which the tinder, and usually some kindling, is placed and ignited. This method is so named because the walls of {{w|log cabins}} are also built by placing wooden logs in perpendicular layers to enclose a central space, though on a much larger scale.

At first, Megan's build appears similar to a typical {{w|Campfire#Construction_styles|'log cabin' fire lay}}. It becomes unusually detailed when she adds interior walls and miniature furniture in the tiny dwelling, suggesting that she's not just laying out fuel for a fire, but actually going to the trouble of building a miniature log cabin, with all the details and components of a real living space. Things truly take a twist toward the bizarre, however, when she adds plumbing and electrical components to the house. This is not only a complex model, but a structure that apparently includes all the functionality one would expect in a modern dwelling. A fault in the installed wiring then initiates a fire, leading to the promised campfire. Stripped of the complexity, Megan effectively built a campfire which was ignited by electrical heating. Igniting a fire with electricity (either using {{w|electric sparks}} or {{w|Joule_heating|resistive heating}}) is a real method, but not particularly common for campfires.

The joke appears to be that, rather than a traditional (and relatively simple) fire-building method, she builds an entire house in miniature, then simulates a common cause of accidental {{w|structure_fire|house fires}}. This has the same net result as the simpler method: a small and contained fire, but the path to get there was unnecessarily complex. It's also somewhat morbid, as it brings to mind real-life house fires, which are both dangerous and traumatic (tens of thousands of people are killed in house fires every year), which may be the reason Cueball seems so horrified.


The title text continues the joke in that she usually finds that it needs more time for the fire to ignite, due to also installing a {{w|fire sprinkler system}}. Automatic sprinkler systems in buildings are typically to be triggered by fire and spray the area with water, wetting any potential fuel and dousing the fire before it spreads. The joke is that the level of detail in Megan's cabin was not only wildly unnecessary, it's actually actively counterproductive to her supposed purpose of starting a fire. This campfire was only started rapidly because the sprinkler system didn't work properly.

==Transcript==

:[A tent in a field stands in the background to the left of Cueball, who stands behind Megan, who is kneeling and arranging sticks into the first few layers of a small log cabin.]
:Cueball: Can you show me how to build a campfire?
:Megan: Sure! We'll use the log cabin method.
:Megan: First we build a square cabin out of sticks.

:[Cueball now stands to the right of frame, opposite Megan with the cabin between them. The cabin has gotten taller and is becoming better defined. Megan holds a tiny table in one hand and tiny chair in the other.]
:Megan: Next, we'll add interior walls, doors, and some cabin furniture made from twigs.
:Cueball: This is very elaborate.

:[The cabin now has a gable roof and an electrical wire leads from the base of the cabin to a coil of wire in Megan's hand and then off panel to the left. Lightning symbols above the wire indicate the wire is energized and perhaps shorting out.]
:Megan: Now we'll add some rudimentary plumbing and electrical wiring. 50 amps, nothing fancy.
:Cueball: It kind of seems like you're just building a cabin.
:Megan: I just - 
:Megan: ...oops.

:[The tiny log cabin is engulfed in flames. Cueball is leaning away from the cabin and holding his hand to shield his face from the heat.]
:Megan: I think my wiring wasn't up to code.
:Cueball: AAAAA!!
:Megan: ... and that's how you build a fire!


{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]