How do you cut and set the inside of a tree trunk alight?

Question

I was once in a town in Switzerland where at christmas the village offered drinks in the town square. Surrounding the square were several sawn whole sections of tree trunks standing on end, approximately 120cms high and sawn with a star removed vertically (partially hollow) by a series of vertical chainsaw cuts. They had then been set alight and were burning from the inside out allowing people standing around to warm their hands around them. Does anyone know what this is called or how it is done? And are there any links to any page showing how this is done? Thanks for any insight. J.

Answer 1

From the description it sounds like they did plunge cuts with the chainsaw. An experienced sawyer can plunge the saw straight into the wood. If you have any crafters in your area that do ornamental sculptures in logs he should be able to do it for you.