MiVT: Fire. Fire.

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Richmond’s Aaron Toth is almost always happy to host backyard fires with friends. Over the years, he’s learned with a great fire, comes great responsibility.

“You let your friends take over the fire, next thing you know, the wood’s gone. And then you’ve got to get everyone into the woods to get more wood. Slowly over time, I was like, ‘Someone’s got to be doing this,’” he said.

As it turns out, not many were doing it. So, Toth started up Fire. Fire. back in 2015, bringing the fire to events, managing it and putting it out.

“We do weddings, big parties, celebrations,” he said.

In an attempt to bring some staff on board to help, he went to the Richmond Fire Department to see if anyone was interested. Instead, he ended up joining them, learning the ins and outs of fire safety and science.

Since then, Fire. Fire. has continued to spread, most recently into fire starters, using chocolate molds from a friend and a few simple recycled ingredients.

“I looked online and it said paraffin wax and wood chips. And, someone recommended lint,” Toth explained. “I don’t want to be doing that much laundry.”

In 2017, he seemingly perfected his formula for these fire starters.

“I tested it out in the winter and it was still burning in three feet of snow, I was like, ‘I might be on to something here,’” Toth said.

He began giving them out to friends, family and at expo events. His first client, he says, was the Golden Eagle in Stowe. From there, things have taken off.

During the week, you can this former graphic designer making his little red squares.

“It makes it so much easier to get a fire going, especially when you’re camping. Leave it in your car, leave it on your camping supplies for years. And you can just break it in half and use it,” Toth explained.

When you’re ready to use them, all you have to do is light the wick, place it under some logs and give it a few minutes. Soon, you’ll have a roaring fire.

It’s all thanks to a guy who just loves a good campfire.

“You know, you do what you love and everything else kind of follows, and I was trying to figure out what I enjoy doing,” said Toth. “And I said to myself, ‘Well, I enjoy standing by a fire, how can I make this work?’ And I built a company that allows me to stand by a fire.”

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