Field hospitals are usually deployed to locations where, in response to adverse circumstances, normal health care is challenged. It is known that the prevalence of burn wounds in such situations is raised and it is highly likely that a field hospital will need to provide burn care. Many of the features of modern high-quality burn care are not deliverable in a field hospital and it is unlikely the best outcomes can be achieved. Burn care draws heavily on resources. Burns over about 30% total body surface area may cause significant physiological derangement requiring sophisticated critical care. If definitive surgical care of the wound is to be undertaken it is probably better to delay wound excision for about two weeks to allow superficial burns to heal spontaneously. Surgery should ideally be performed in repeated short sessions rather than a single large procedure.