I guess after all this time it really doesn't matter but thought I'd ask anyway. There isn't any way to teach villagers to keep the fire fed on their own is there?

Tess

Sorry there isn't. You need to take a villager to the woodpile.

sometimes i swear my fire burns out way before it is supposed to.

I have forgotten it a few times and it went out before I got to it.
Luckily nothing major happened when it went out.

What does the fire actually do besides be used to cook?

Reduces illness and increases tech points, to name two.

I try to set my game speed to 2x when I'm done for the day; this assures me of 39 hours of fire time. Thus, I know that when I turn the game back on after about 19 hours (sleep and work) that I'll still have a fire and not sick villagers. My villagers seem to dislike any chill in the air.

Um, I thought 1/2 speed gave 39 hours and 2x speed gave 9 hours

I prefer to play the game on 2X speed which gives me 9 hours of fire time. However, for much of the day I'm at work so I have to remember to change it to normal speed every morning before I leave so the fire lasts for 19 hours. Otherwise my villagers will catch cold.

You're right Izzy, I confuzled my times.