Generally, a flammable

Flammability

Flammability is defined as how easily something will burn or ignite, causing fire or combustion. The degree of difficulty required to cause the combustion of a substance is quantified through fire testing. Internationally, a variety of test protocols exist to quantify flammability...

 liquid is a liquid that can catch fire.

In the USA, there is a precise definition of flammable liquid as one with a flash point

Flash point

The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air. Measuring a flash point requires an ignition source...

 below 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Less-flammable liquids (with a flashpoint between 100 degrees and 200 degrees Fahrenheit) are defined as combustible liquids. This definition is used by the National Fire Protection Association

National Fire Protection Association

The National Fire Protection Association is a United States trade association that creates and maintains private, copywrited, standards and codes for usage and adoption by local governments...

, The US Department of Transportation

United States Department of Transportation

The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...

, the US Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...

, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration and others.

These categories are further subdivided, depending on the liquid's flash point

Flash point

The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air. Measuring a flash point requires an ignition source...

 and boiling point

Boiling point

The boiling point of an element or a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the environmental pressure surrounding the liquid....

.

• Class IA flammable liquids have a flash point below 73 °F (the upper end of the common range of room temperature
  Room temperature
  -Comfort levels:The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers has listings for suggested temperatures and air flow rates in different types of buildings and different environmental circumstances. For example, a single office in a building has an occupancy ratio per...
  
  ) and a boiling point below 100 °F
• Class IB flammable liquids have a flash point below 73 °F and a boiling point greater than or equal to 100 °F
• Class IC flammable liquids have a flash point greater than or equal to 73 °F and below 100 °F

• Class II combustible liquids have a flash point greater than or equal to 100 °F and below 140 °F
• Class IIIA combustible liquids have a flash point greater than or equal to 140 °F and below 200 °F
• Class IIIB combustible liquids have a flash point greater than or equal to 200 °F

Examples of flammable liquids

Flammable liquids include, but are not limited to

Common name	CAS Number	Flash point Flash point The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air. Measuring a flash point requires an ignition source...	Class	Autoignition Temperature
Acetone Acetone Acetone is the organic compound with the formula 2CO, a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid, the simplest example of the ketones.Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically as the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory...	67-64-1	-17 °C	IB	465 °C (869 °F)
Biodiesel Biodiesel Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....	n/a mixture	>130 °C (266 °F)	IIIB
Dimethyl ether Dimethyl ether Dimethyl ether , also known as methoxymethane, is the organic compound with the formula . The simplest ether, it is a colourless gas that is a useful precursor to other organic compounds and an aerosol propellant. When combusted, DME produces minimal soot and CO, though HC and NOx formation is...	115-10-6	-41 °C	IA	235 °C (455 °F)
Diesel	n/a mixture	>62 °C (143.6 °F)	IIIA	210 °C (410 °F)
Ethanol Ethanol Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...	64-17-5	12.8 °C (55 °F)	IB	365 °C (689 °F)
Diethyl ether Diethyl ether Diethyl ether, also known as ethyl ether, simply ether, or ethoxyethane, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula . It is a colorless, highly volatile flammable liquid with a characteristic odor...	60-29-7	-45 °C	IA	170 °C (338 °F)
Gasoline Gasoline Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...	n/a mixture	<-40 °C	IB	246 °C (474.8 °F)
Jet fuel Jet fuel Jet fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is clear to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to a standardized international specification...	n/a mixture	>38 °C (100.4 °F)	II	210 °C (410 °F)
Kerosene Kerosene Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...  (paraffin oil)	n/a mixture	>38 –	IIIA	220 °C (428 °F)
Methanol Methanol Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...	67-56-1	11 °C (51.8 °F)	IB	464 °C (867.2 °F)
Nitromethane Nitromethane Nitromethane is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a slightly viscous, highly polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in extractions, as a reaction medium, and as a cleaning solvent...	75-52-5	35 °C (95 °F)
Vegetable oil (canola)	n/a mixture		IIIB	327 °C (620.6 °F)

See also Highly Flammable
For More Information.

See also

• Fire prevention
  Fire prevention
  Fire Prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public to take precautions to prevent fires, and be educated about surviving them. It is a proactive method of reducing emergencies and the damage caused by them. Many fire departments have a Fire...
  
  
• Fire protection
  Fire protection
  Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of...
  
  
• Flammability
  Flammability
  Flammability is defined as how easily something will burn or ignite, causing fire or combustion. The degree of difficulty required to cause the combustion of a substance is quantified through fire testing. Internationally, a variety of test protocols exist to quantify flammability...