BA C

D

HOW TO READTHE FIRE DIAMOND

POSITION A HEALTH HAZARD (BLUE). DEGREE OF HAZARD.

0 Ordinary combustible hazard in a fire.1 Slightly hazardous2 Hazardous 3 Extreme Danger 4 DEADLY

POSITION BFLAMMABILITY (RED). SUSCEPTIBILITY TOBURNING.

0 Will not burn - Any material that will not burnin air when exposed to a temperature of 1500 ˚F (815.5 ˚C) for a period of 5 minutes.

1 Will ignite if preheated - Materials that willburn in air when exposed to a temperature of1500 ˚F (815.5 ˚C) for a period of 5 minutes orless; liquids, solids, and semi-solids having aflash point above 200 ˚F [93.3 ˚C (i.e. ClassIIIB combustible liquids)].

2 Will ignite if moderately heated - Liquidshaving a flash point above 100 ˚F (37.8 ˚C), butnot exceeding 200 ˚F (93.4 ˚C [i.e. Class II andClass IIIA combustible liquids)]; solid materi-als in a dust, fibrous, or shredded form thatmay burn rapidly or readily give off flammablevapors, but do not form explosive atmosphereswith air.

3 Will ignite at ambient conditions - Liquidshaving a flash point below 73 ˚F (22.8 ˚C) andhaving a boiling point at or above 100 ˚F (37.8˚C) and those liquids having a flashpoint at orabove 73 ˚F (22.8 ˚C) and below 100 ˚F

[37.8 ˚C (i.e. Class IB and Class IC flammableliquids)]; materials that can form explosivemixtures with air and materials that burn withextreme rapidity.

4 Burns rapidly at ambient conditions -Flammable gasses; flammable cryogenic mate-rials; any liquid or gaseous material that is liq-uid under pressure and has a flash point below73 ˚F (22.8 ˚C) and a boiling point below 100 ˚F [37.8 ˚C) (i.e. Class IA flammable liq-uid)]; materials that ignite spontaneously whenexposed to air.

POSITION C REACTIVITY, INSTABILITY (YELLOW).ENERGY RELEASED IF BURNED, DECOM-POSED, OR MIXED.

0 Stable even under fire conditions and notreactive with water

1 Unstable if heated2 Violent chemical change and reacts violently

with water3 Shock and heat may detonate and reacts

explosively with water4 May detonate at normal temperatures and

pressures

POSITION DSPECIAL HAZARD - (WHITE)OX = OxidizerW = Use no water. Reacts!

The fire diamond is a visual warning system developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).Many chemical companies use the NFPA system to provide users with a convenient way of assessing a chemi-cal’s hazards to short-term acute exposure caused by a spill, fire, or similar emergency.

Here’s how to interpret the fire diamond:

© Genium Publishing Corp. 1996, Schenectady, NYLaboratory Safety, Personal Poster, 13