When Dodge realized that they would not be able to outrun the fire, he started an escape fire, taking a match and burning an area of grass to lie in so that the fire would burn around him and his crew.
When Dodge realized that they would not be able to make the ridge line in front of the fire, he took a match and burned an area of grass before the main fire. In so doing he was attempting to create an escape fire to lie in so that the main fire would burn around him and his crew.