Once the boiler has some heat and a few pounds of pressure, say 15 pounds or so, you can begin to heat the fuel oil if it is an oil burner. If a wood/coal burner, you start the fire with kindling, old cottage chairs, broomsticks, or whatever you have, get a decent fire going, and then heap coal until you have a burning coal bed. In either case, the actual fire lighting is accomplished with a burning piece of cotton waste or a rag held out near the hot fire or the atomizer and perhaps tossed down onto or near either of them. Then turn on the atomizer....it isn't on already. Oh, and stand back, too.