How to Make Fire in Minecraft

Last Updated: January 28, 2023 References

Fire has many uses, such as forming traps, clearing forests, taking down wooden structures, or just decoration in a fireplace. This article will show you how to make fires in Minecraft.

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

Using Flint and Steel

1
Getting the materials. Flint and steel can be located in some nether fortress chests, or can be crafted using one iron ingot and one flint in a 3x3 crafting grid.
- Obtain flint by breaking gravel with your hand or a shovel.
- Get the iron ingot (the "steel" part) by mining a piece of iron ore using a stone pickaxe, then smelting the ore into an iron ingot with a furnace.
- Create a crafting table by gathering wood, constructing wood planks, and using the wood planks to build the table.
2
Navigate to your crafting table and position your character directly in front of the table.

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3
Open the crafting table to access the 3x3 crafting grid. The instructions for accessing the crafting grid vary depending on your gaming system.
- PC version: Right-click on the crafting table to open the crafting grid.
- PE: Tap on the crafting table to open the crafting grid.
- Xbox 360 / Xbox One: Press the X button on the controller to access the crafting grid.
- PS3 / PS4: Press the square button on the controller to access the crafting grid.
4
Add the flint to the middle box in the middle row of the 3x3 grid.
5
Add the iron ingot to the far left box in the top row. Both the flint and iron ingot must be added to the grid in this order to create the flint and steel combination.
6
Verify that flint and steel appears in the box to the far right. The iron ingot will be fashioned into a steel object shaped like the letter “C,” and is positioned to the left of the steel.
7
Move the flint and steel into the fourth, bottom row of your inventory, also known as the hotbar. The flint and steel is now ready for use.^{[1]
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8
Select the flint and steel from the hotbar, then right-click on top of a solid, opaque block or on the side of a flammable block. The flint and steel will cause a fire to ignite on the block selected.

Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

Using a Fire Charge in a Dispenser

1
Getting the materials. To craft a fire charge, you need one piece of coal, one gunpowder, and one blaze powder.
- Coal can be obtained by mining it from its ore, or by looting it from chest minecarts in abandoned mineshafts and stronghold storeroom chests ^{[2]
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- Obtain gunpowder by killing creepers, ghasts, or witches. You can also search for gunpowder in dungeon chests.
- Create blaze powder by crafting a blaze rod picked up from a blaze. A blaze is a mob with yellow skin and black eyes that dwells in the Nether.
- Create a crafting table by gathering wood, constructing wood planks, and using the wood planks to build the table.
2
Navigate to your crafting table and position your character directly in front of the table.
3
Open the crafting table to access the 3x3 crafting grid. The instructions for accessing the crafting grid vary depending on your gaming system.
- PC version: Right-click on the crafting table to open the crafting grid.
- PE: Tap on the crafting table to open the crafting grid.
- Xbox 360 / Xbox One: Press the X button on the controller to access the crafting grid.
- PS3 / PS4: Press the square button on the controller to access the crafting grid.
4
Add the gunpowder to the far left box in the top row of the grid.
5
Add the blaze powder to the middle box in the top row of the grid.
6
Add the piece of coal to the far left box in the middle row of the grid.
7
Verify that three fire charges appear in the box to the far right. A fire charge is a round, black ball featuring gray and orange swirls.
8
Move the fire charges to the fourth, bottom row of your inventory, also known as the hotbar. The fire charges can now be placed in a dispenser.^{[3]
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- If you have a dispenser, skip to step 15, otherwise follow these steps to craft a dispenser.
- Note that you don't actually need a dispenser to use a fire charge, but this article will show you how to craft and use a dispenser anyway.
9
Gather the materials to craft a dispenser. To create a dispenser, you need seven cobblestone, one bow, and one piece of redstone dust.
- Dig into the ground past the dirt to get cobblestone.^{[4]
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- Craft a bow using three sticks and three strings in a 3x3 crafting grid.
- Place redstone dust by selecting it in the hotbar and right-clicking on the surface of a block.
10
Navigate to the crafting table and open the 3x3 crafting grid as outlined in step #3.
11
Place one cobblestone in each box in the left and right columns, and in the box at the top of the middle column.
12
Add the bow to the middle box in the center of the middle column.
13
Add the redstone dust to the middle box in the bottom row of the crafting grid.
14
Verify that the dispenser is displayed in the box to the far right. The dispenser is a gray box that features a hole on the left side of the box.^{[5]
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15
Move the dispenser to the hotbar, then right-click on the dispenser. This will bring up the dispenser’s inventory menu.
16
Select the dispenser from the hotbar, then place the dispenser on a surface adjacent to the space you want the fire to occupy. The hole in the dispenser must be facing the space on which you want the fire to start.
17
Place the fire charge inside the dispenser. Right-click on the dispenser to open its inventory, then move the fire charge to one of the 9 slots inside of the dispenser.
18
Right-click on the dispenser. Fire will shoot from the dispenser, and start a fire on the adjacent space.

Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Using Ghast Fireballs

Ghasts are hostile mobs that look like large ghosts, and only spawn in the Nether. They can shoot fire balls at you that will explode when they hit the ground. It's highly recommended to bring Fire Resistance potions along with you if you choose to use this method.

1
Find a ghast. Ghasts can spawn over any solid block in a 5x4x5 area in the Nether at any light level, and can be commonly seen floating high above the ground or above lava pools.
2
Approach the ghast. Carefully make your way closer to the ghast, taking care to either dodge it's fireballs, or reflect them away from the ghast, by punching them just before they hit you.
- Be mindful of the terrain during your approach. Avoid bridging over areas where getting knocked off could lead to lethal fall damage, or a swim in the lake of lava below.
- Avoid walking over the floating gravel that can generate in the Nether. The last thing you want is for a ghast's fireball to update those blocks while you’re on them.
- Do not reflect the fireballs directly back at the ghast as that will instantly kill it if it hits.
3
Lure the ghast to your desired location. Ghasts don’t actually have a "pursuit mode", like other hostile mobs, so it’s not always likely to move closer to you. Fortunately, you can use fishing rods, to pull the ghast towards you.
- Be careful, as they “will” still be shooting at you, which will create holes in the ground and light it (and you) on fire. Fire resistance potions are practically necessary for this part.
- Because of how close you have to be to the ghast in order to hook it on your rod, you won't be able to dodge their constant fireball assault. If you don't have Fire Resistance, a shield will work extremely well here.
4
Stand in front the desired location. Stand in front of the area you want lit. Wait for the ghast to shoot a fireball, then dodge it. The fireball will explode behind you and light some of the blocks on fire.
- This method is useful for relighting unlit Nether Portals when you don’t have a flint & steel or a fire charge.

Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Using Lightning (No Trident and No Cheats)

This method works better on the Bedrock Edition of the game compared to the Java Edition, since lightning strikes closer to the player due to different spawn distance limits.

1
Wait for a thunderstorm. Assuming you’re in a Survival Mode world with cheats turned off, you’ll have to wait for a thunderstorm to start. They occur randomly ever so often.
2
Move to a biome where rain falls. Lightning doesn’t strike within cold biomes or deserts, so move outside those biomes if you’re in one.
3
Build Netherrack targets Since you can’t control where the lightning will strike, build a large 9x9 targets out of netherrack, then wait for the lightning to strike it.
- When lightning (naturally) spawns, a block is randomly chosen within any loaded chunks for it to strike, so it's a good idea to build multiple target and spread them out, thereby increasing the chance of one getting struck.
- Netherrack is used as the rain won't put out a lit netherrack block, whereas other flammable blocks like wood or wool would be almost immediately extinguished by the rain.

Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Using Lightning (Channeling Trident)

This method allows the player to control where the lightning strikes.

1
Get yourself a trident. Drowned zombies have a chance to drop them, and they can be found spawning in rivers, and oceans.
- Note that converted drowned (zombies, zombie villagers, or husks that stay submerged for too long and turn into drowned) do not drop tridents.
2
Add a Channeling Enchantment. Channeling allows your trident to summon a lightning bolt whenever it strikes an entity (directly under the sky) during a thunderstorm. When this happens, both the mob, and the blocks it's standing on get lit on fire.
3
Setup your target. Lure any mob onto a Netherrack platform, then wall the in so they can't escape. Stone walls or nether brick fences work well for this since they don't burn.
- The specific mob doesn't matter, although it's best to avoid using Creepers or Villagers as your targets since these turn into Charged Creepers and Witches respectively when struck by lightning.
- This won't work if the mob is underneath a block; they must be directly exposed to the sky,
- Don't use other flammable blocks like wool or wood for the platform, as those will be almost immediately put out by the rain.
4
Wait for a thunderstorm. As stated before, thunderstorms occur randomly, and the only way to get one is to wait for it to happen naturally which can take many in-game days, or by using the /weather command.
5
Summon the bolt. Throw the enchanted trident at the mob. A lightning bolt will immediately spawn in, striking the poor mob and lighting both it and the ground on fire.

Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Using Lava

Lava is a fluid block which will light nearby flammable blocks on fire, and can quickly kill you if you jump in. Needless to say, be careful using this method.

1
Find lava. Lava pools can sometime be found on the surface of the Overworld, as well as deep underground in caves. In addition, lava can be found in the Stronghold portal room, in blacksmith shops, and of course, literally everywhere in the Nether.
2
Place the lava in the desired location. Use a bucket to carry some of the lava to wherever you need it, then build a container next to where you want the fire and place the lava inside it.
3
Place flammable blocks close to the lava. Any flammable blocks within a certain radius from lava will eventually catch fire.
- This is also a way to light Nether Portals if you don't have a flint & steel.

Community Q&A

Question

Does this work in real life if you have a dispensing machine full of flammable materials like coal, bloodworms, and burnt wood?

Community Answer

Yes it will work, if you want to reduce your house to a big steaming pile of ashes.
Question

Can I make a fire with a fire charge if I don't have a dispenser?

Belle K.

Top Answerer

You should be able to. Just right-click on a block with the charge in hand, and the fire will appear on the top of the block.
Question

How do you use a lodestone?

Seasalt25

Top Answerer

You can use a lodestone by first placing it where you want your compass to point to, and then using a compass on it. The compass should look like it is enchanted if you're on Java edition, or have a cyan tint to it if you're on Bedrock edition.

Warnings

Flint and steel only lasts through 65 fire placements, even when you execute an incorrect fire placement. Use flint and steel to start fires on blocks that are solid and opaque or flammable, and avoid using it on all other types of blocks. Examples of flammable blocks are wood blocks, leaves, grass, wool, hay bales, bookshelves, and flowers.^{[6]
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If you decide to use the lightning method, watch out for nearby pigs, creepers and/or villagers. If they get struck by lightning, they’ll turn into zombified piglins, charged creepers, and witches respectively.

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Fire can be extremely dangerous both in the game and in real life, and can cause major property damage if mishandled. Please use cation when using any of these methods around flammable builds or forests.

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