Essential Items ● Pizza peels (suited to the depth of your oven); our local cooking supply store couldn’t get ones with long handles, so we ordered from Nella Cutlery . ● Heat proof gloves (we like the leather kind) ● Kitchen safe sanitizer (restaurant supply places often have this) and clean rags and paper towels. ● Fire tools (long fork fire poker, or tongs to move logs around inside) ● Ash removal tools: hoe or something to pull the cold ashes out (fireproof broom) ● Metal fireproof ash can ● Fire extinguisher ● Infrared Thermometer to check the oven temperature from a safe distance ● Aprons for firemaster volunteers; to keep their clothes clean, to identify them as the firemaster, for some added ember protection. ● Goggles (for eye protection) ● First aid kit ● Pizza cutters ● Garbage bins ● Stainless steel tables or counters; stainless steel is the least expensive, most durable surface that can be easily cleaned and sanitized. Items Added in Our First Season ● Baked goods cooling racks; these are important for baked goods to cool well and people generally do not think to bring them (they aren’t technically essential, but our community thought they were). ● Extra long ash remover; a long stainless uncoated garden hoe would work just fine too. Our oven is 48 inches deep, so it requires a long item to reach the back and remove all the ashes before the next firing. Because most fire tools are shorter, this item becomes the main tool for moving the fire around when it’s hot or at the back of the oven. Wish List Equipment ● Bellows; to get the fire started faster. We have yet to use these as our chimney is quite tall and pulls air through well. These are particularly helpful if an oven doesn’t pull air in/out well or you have wood that isn’t very dry. ● Large cast iron dutch ovens for overnight slow cooking using the oven’s residual heat. Volunteers Like so many community run initiatives, volunteers are the backbone that keep things running. Depending on your project, you may need volunteers in different capacities. Planning in advance for how many volunteers you might need, and in what capacity, will help determine what sort of outreach is needed. It’s best to have too many volunteers to choose from than to only have a few and need to depend on them all the time. Whenever working with volunteers, it’s important to remember that they are doing work in their free time and they should be recognized and appreciated for their contributions on a regular basis. Most volunteers join because they love what they are doing, but burnout is real for volunteers, just like with paid workers, so make sure to check in and communicate regularly. Where you might need volunteers: ● Fundraising events ● Communications ● Helping to design the oven and surrounding space ● Professional services (architect, engineer, carpenter, etc.) ● Construction ● Putting together events 9
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