"To Build a Fire" takes its title from the main character's goal during the second half of the story. The anonymous man, a fortune-seeker and woodsman, is hiking across the frozen Yukon wilderness when he falls through the ice covering a creek. He needs to build a fire as soon as possible to avoid dying or getting frostbite. Ultimately, the man fails to build a fire that will warm him, and dies.
The title "To Build a Fire" is a shortened statement of the man's intent; he needs to build a fire to stay alive. What seems like a fairly simple task is in fact immensely difficult, and carries far more significance than it would outside the story's environment (most people, including London's readers, will never have their lives hinge on building a fire before they freeze to death).
Therefore, building a fire is equivalent to saving one's life, so analogous statements could include "To Save My Own Life" or "To Avoid Freezing To Death."
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