Chapter 5: Shelter & Warmth

Lily: "Dress like an onion: layer by layer!"

Staying warm and dry keeps Rangers healthy. A good shelter spot is safe first and comfy second.

What Rangers know

• Layers. Thin layers trap warm air. Take one off before you get sweaty, and put it back on when you stop (EP09).
• Dry is warm. Wet clothes steal heat, so change into dry socks first. Keep one dry set in a bag (EP10).
• More under you than on top. The cold ground pulls heat away, so put a pad, cardboard or blanket underneath (EP11).
• Hat, socks, mittens. Keep your head, feet and fingers warm. Mittens are warmer than gloves.
• Safe spot first. Choose high, flat ground. Not a dry riverbed (water can rush in), not beside wobbly walls, under dead branches or near wires, and not beside roads.
• Tarp with a grown-up. A grown-up ties the tarp, sloped so rain runs off. Rangers hand over the rope and pegs (EP12).
• Never fire or heaters inside. Burning anything in a closed tent or room makes an invisible gas that hurts people.
• Water rising? Climb up high. Never walk, play or ride in flood water. Go uphill holding hands (EP13).
• Power out.
• Save the phone: airplane mode, dim screen, close apps (EP14).
• Use wind-up or sealed lights.
• Never touch wall wires or car batteries, and never open a battery.
• Frostbite: warm it gently. Numb, white or grey-yellow skin on fingers, toes, ears or nose? Tell a grown-up, get somewhere warm, and warm it with body heat (hands in armpits). Don't rub it, and don't hold it near a fire or heater.

• Hot days too. Find shade, sip water, wear a hat.

• Fire in the shelter: get out, stay out. Shout "Fire!", get out fast, crawl low under smoke, and go to the meeting spot. Never go back in, not for toys, pets or bags. If your clothes catch fire: stop, drop and roll, covering your face.

• Drowning. Water is a grown-up place. Never swim or play in rivers, wells, ponds, ditches or flood water without a grown-up. If someone is in the water, don't go in: shout for help, and reach with a long stick or throw something that floats.
• Carbon monoxide stays a grown-up job: stoves, heaters and generators stay outside (see the grown-up note). If people feel a headache, dizziness, sick tummy or very sleepy near a stove or heater: everyone out into fresh air, and tell a grown-up straight away.

Ranger checklist

• ☐ I know: get out, stay out, crawl low, never go back in.
• ☐ I can show stop, drop and roll.
• ☐ I never play near water without a grown-up, and I know reach or throw, don't go.
• ☐ I can layer up and layer down.
• ☐ I keep a dry set and dry socks.
• ☐ I put more under me than on top.
• ☐ I can point to a safe spot and say why.
• ☐ I helped a grown-up with a tarp by handing over rope and pegs.
• ☐ I know: no fire or heaters inside.
• ☐ I know the flood rule: climb up high, stay out.
• ☐ I can save phone power.

Earn your badge (Warmth 🧣 · Shelter ⛺ · Flood Safety 🌊 · Power Out 🔦)

Watch and learn

EP09 Dress Like an Onion (#009) · EP10 Dry Is Warm (#010) · EP11 Off the Cold Ground (#011) · EP12 Tarp Roof With a Grown-Up (#012) · EP13 High Ground, Stay Out (#013) · EP14 Keep the Phone Alive (#014) · Planned: Off the Ground · No Fire Inside · Bedroll and Tarp · Safe Sleep Spot · Go Bag #GB1 (warm layer)

Grown-up note

Carbon-monoxide risk from stoves, braziers and generators in enclosed spaces is a leading winter danger. Keep all fuel-burning outside and ventilated, and away from children.

Fact-checked Oct 21, 2026, approved by David McKellips.