Flame (GHS02)
Flame (GHS02)
Flammable — or a substance that heats up, ignites in air, or gives off flammable gas when wet.
What it looks like
A single flame rising from a horizontal line, black on white in a red diamond.
What it means
The most common pictogram in a household: nail varnish remover, aerosols, spirit-based cleaners, hand sanitiser, adhesives and lighter refills. It covers five separate hazard classes, and two are not obvious from the word flammable — pyrophoric substances catch fire in air on their own, and water-reactive ones release flammable gas when they get wet. The practical rule for the domestic cases is that the vapour burns rather than the liquid, so ventilation matters more than distance, and an aerosol left in a hot car is a genuine risk.
Defined by UN GHS / EU CLP / OSHA HazCom. Where a symbol differs between standards, the difference is described above rather than resolved — both versions are in circulation on real labels.
Other hazard warnings symbols
| Symbol | Means |
|---|---|
| Exploding bomb (GHS01) | Explosive, self-reactive, or an organic peroxide that can explode. |
| Flame over circle (GHS03) | Oxidising — it will feed a fire, including one that has nothing else to burn with. |
| Gas cylinder (GHS04) | Gas under pressure — compressed, liquefied, refrigerated or dissolved. |
| Corrosion (GHS05) | Causes severe skin burns and eye damage, or corrodes metal. |
| Skull and crossbones (GHS06) | Acute toxicity — fatal or toxic in small amounts by swallowing, skin contact or inhalation. |
| Exclamation mark (GHS07) | Irritant, skin sensitiser, harmful if swallowed or inhaled, or may cause drowsiness — the lower-severity hazards. |
| Health hazard (GHS08) | Serious long-term health effects — cancer, genetic damage, harm to fertility or the unborn child, organ damage, asthma from inhalation, or fatal if swallowed and it enters the airways. |
| Environment (GHS09) | Hazardous to the aquatic environment — toxic to fish and other water life. |
| Orange explosive (E) | Explosive, under the old European system. |
| Orange oxidising (O) | Oxidising agent, under the old European system. |
| Orange flammable (F, F+) | Highly flammable (F) or extremely flammable (F+), under the old European system. |
| Orange toxic (T, T+) | Toxic (T) or very toxic (T+), under the old European system. |
| Orange harmful or irritant (Xn, Xi) | Harmful (Xn) or irritant (Xi), under the old European system. |
| Orange corrosive (C) | Corrosive, under the old European system. |
| Orange dangerous for the environment (N) | Dangerous for the environment, under the old European system. |
| NFPA 704 fire diamond | A US placard telling emergency responders how a stored chemical behaves in a fire. |
| Biohazard | Biological material that can cause disease — blood, cultures, clinical waste. |
| Radiation trefoil | Ionising radiation — a radioactive source or a device producing radiation. |
| Laser radiation | Laser radiation — do not look into the beam. |
Common questions
- What does the flame (ghs02) symbol mean?
- Flammable — or a substance that heats up, ignites in air, or gives off flammable gas when wet.
- What does it look like?
- A single flame rising from a horizontal line, black on white in a red diamond.
Related pages
- Flame over circle (GHS03) Oxidising — it will feed a fire, including one that has nothing else to burn with.
- Gas cylinder (GHS04) Gas under pressure — compressed, liquefied, refrigerated or dissolved.
- Orange flammable (F, F+) Highly flammable (F) or extremely flammable (F+), under the old European system.
- Exploding bomb (GHS01) Explosive, self-reactive, or an organic peroxide that can explode.
- Flame over circle (GHS03) Oxidising — it will feed a fire, including one that has nothing else to burn with.
- Gas cylinder (GHS04) Gas under pressure — compressed, liquefied, refrigerated or dissolved.
- Corrosion (GHS05) Causes severe skin burns and eye damage, or corrodes metal.
- Skull and crossbones (GHS06) Acute toxicity — fatal or toxic in small amounts by swallowing, skin contact or inhalation.
- Exclamation mark (GHS07) Irritant, skin sensitiser, harmful if swallowed or inhaled, or may cause drowsiness — the lower-severity hazards.
- Health hazard (GHS08) Serious long-term health effects — cancer, genetic damage, harm to fertility or the unborn child, organ damage, asthma from inhalation, or fatal if swallowed and it enters the airways.
- Environment (GHS09) Hazardous to the aquatic environment — toxic to fish and other water life.
- Orange explosive (E) Explosive, under the old European system.
- Orange oxidising (O) Oxidising agent, under the old European system.
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place