For starting the fire maybe something like this would work:
1st time fire: mini-game in which you control sticks to light the fire. Once lit the villager carries a burning coal to a save place.
Next fires: you have the choice of playing the mini-game or picking up the coal.
You could even add an island event in which the coal is extinguished and you would need to light it from scratch (once).
Plenty of variations possible. You could for instance make it so that first some place has to be constructed to keep the coal protected... Well the guys at LDW sure have proven to be creative enough to come up with many more ideas.