Hairspray sits inches from a lit curling iron, a hair dryer on high, and sometimes a candle or a cigarette, every single…
Nobody thinks of a bottle of perfume as a fire hazard, but chemically it is closer to a bottle of vodka than…
Olive oil has the lowest smoke point of the common cooking oils, which makes people nervous about it catching fire. The nervousness…
Coconut oil shows up in the kitchen, in the bathroom, and in the craft closet as candle fuel, so people reasonably ask…
"Grease fire" is the phrase firefighters use for most kitchen fires, so it surprises people to learn that grease does not technically…
Bourbon has burned down more warehouses than any other spirit in America, so the question of whether it is flammable has an…
Steel wool burns. Steel beams don't. Both are steel. That contradiction is the whole answer to whether steel is flammable, and it…
The smell of fresh paint is solvent vapor, and whether that vapor can ignite depends entirely on what's in the can. It's…
Throw salt in a campfire and the flames flare bright yellow, which is enough to make people wonder if salt burns. It…
Gorilla makes a dozen adhesives under one brand, and they are chemically different products. Whether "Gorilla Glue" is flammable depends on which…
Gasoline is one of the most dangerous substances in everyday life, not because most people don't know it's flammable, but because they…
You've probably caramelized sugar in a pan and watched it slowly turn amber and bubble. You might have wondered, could this catch…
Cornstarch is a fine white powder you probably keep next to the flour in your pantry. Most people never think of it…
Honey sits in a bear shaped squeeze bottle on your kitchen shelf, and it doesn't look remotely dangerous. So is it flammable?…
Here's a fact that surprises almost everyone: diamonds are flammable. Not easily, not at any temperature you'd encounter in daily life, but…
Kitchen fires are the number one cause of house fires in the United States, and cooking oil is behind most of them.…
Antifreeze is one of those products people assume is either completely harmless or wildly dangerous around fire. The truth is in the…
A candle is a controlled fire sitting on your coffee table. Most people never think about it that way, but firefighters do,…
Propane runs grills, RVs, forklifts, and the furnaces of millions of homes that aren't on a natural gas line. It is so…
Natural gas heats about half the homes in the United States and runs the stoves in most of them. It is safe…
Most people don't think twice about the bag of flour sitting in their kitchen cabinet. It's a basic baking ingredient, how dangerous…
If you've ever popped the hood to check your transmission fluid or had a mechanic top it off during a routine service,…
Rubbing alcohol is in almost every medicine cabinet in America. It cleans cuts, disinfects thermometers, and pulls sticker residue off just about…
Walk into any garage in America and you'll find a shelf of half used paint cans. Whether they are a fire hazard…
WD 40 is one of those products that ends up in every toolbox, junk drawer, and garage in the country. People use…
Spray paint is the most flammable paint product most people will ever handle. It is not close. The paint inside might be…
You probably have a bottle of acetone sitting in your bathroom cabinet right now. It's one of the most common ingredients in…
You've probably seen flambé dishes at restaurants where a chef pours alcohol into a hot pan and a burst of flame shoots…
Vodka is the spirit people most often light on fire, whether in a flaming shot at a bar or by accident at…
Whiskey has a long relationship with fire. Distilleries burn down, warehouses full of aging barrels have produced some of the largest fires…
Acrylic paint is in every classroom, craft room, and hobby shop, and it gets used near heat guns, candles, and hair dryers…
Most paint sold in the United States today is latex, and most people have a few cans of it in the garage…
People confuse baking powder and baking soda constantly, which is harmless in a recipe and matters a lot when a pan is…
Gorilla Tape is the duct tape people reach for when regular duct tape isn't enough, and that means it ends up in…
Scotch tape is on every desk in the country, and it gets used to hang things over lamps, tape cords to walls,…
Packing tape is one of the most common materials in any house, garage, or warehouse, and nobody thinks about it until a…
Nail glue lives in bathrooms and bedrooms next to candles, hair dryers, and curling irons. That combination deserves a second look, because…
Bleaching hair involves a powder, a peroxide developer, plastic bowls, and often a hair dryer or heat cap to speed things up.…
Tire fires are among the most difficult fires a department can respond to. If you’ve ever seen a tire dump burning on…
ChapStick is one of the most benign seeming objects in everyday life, a small stick of waxy lip balm. But the question…
If you’ve seen the videos of teenagers spraying deodorant cans at lighters and creating fireballs, you already know the answer; however, the…
“`html Epoxy is used for everything from garage floor coatings to structural repairs to electronics potting. It comes in two parts: a…
Fiberglass is used in everything from boat hulls to bathtubs to insulation. Its fire behavior is frequently misunderstood, partly because “fiberglass” can…
Nylon is everywhere: clothing, rope, carpet, upholstery, zip ties, toothbrush bristles. In a fire, how does it behave? The answer matters for…
Polyester is the most widely used synthetic fabric in the world; it appears in clothing, bedding, upholstery, outdoor gear, and industrial applications.…
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipe is one of the most common plumbing materials in residential construction. In a house fire, all that plastic…
Resin is a broad category that covers dozens of different materials: epoxy resin, polyester resin, UV resin, alkyd resin, and more. Their…
Rubber shows up everywhere: gloves, gaskets, hoses, shoe soles, and electrical insulation. Its fire behavior varies significantly depending on whether it’s natural…
Whether you’re at a barbecue with open flames, sitting around a campfire, or just wondering about that case of beer in the…
After the pandemic, hand sanitizer went from a convenience store afterthought to a household essential. It is in our cars, our bags,…
Kerosene has been around for a long time. It powered lamps before electricity, it heated homes before natural gas was widely available,…
This one might seem like the most obvious question in the world. It is called lighter fluid. Of course it is flammable.…
If you've ever changed your own oil or walked through a garage with motor oil splashed on the floor, you've probably wondered…
Baking soda is an impressive substance with a lot of potential uses. If we aren’t using it to help cakes rise, we’re…
Household bleach is not flammable. Bleach is mostly water with about 5 to 8% sodium hypochlorite, so it will not catch fire…
Cotton is the material of choice for a lot of consumers. It is light and breathable enough for use in summer clothing,…
Wet super glue (cyanoacrylate) is flammable: its vapor can ignite from a flame, and it reacts with cotton or wool to generate…
I talk about a lot of different substances in these guides and this is one that you will either find pretty interesting…
Alcohol is flammable once it is at least about 80 proof (40% alcohol by volume). Spirits at 80 proof and above will…
Soap is an essential tool in our day to day life that we assume has to be one of the safest products around. After…
No. Helium is not flammable and cannot explode. It is a noble gas, meaning it does not react with oxygen or anything…
There is little that is more essential for life than oxygen. Even a short term lack of this gas can be life threatening. But…
Concrete is a substance we often take for granted without considering its properties and worth. There are many good reasons why we…
There is the understandable perception that aluminum foil must be a fireproof material. After all, we use it all the time for…
Steel wool is a great material for DIY and more heavy duty crafting in a workshop. The texture and strength of this “wool”…
Fire retardant sprays are undeniably effective in preventing the spread of fire and reducing the flammability of objects. But, is there a…
When we talk about the most fire retardant materials, wool often isn’t top of mind. The thick natural fleece seems like it…
Spray foam insulation is a great way to add insulation to your home, keeping the heat in the winter, making the place…
Many vehicles run on diesel; perhaps you even own one. As you fill up at the pump, it might have crossed your…
Glitter is something that is supposed to bring nothing but joy. The sparkly substance adds shine and beauty to everything from cakes…
To you, few scents in this world are better than burning wood. From a fireplace in your living room to a fire…
Your skin is a lot of things, such as soft, supple, and protective. From temperature extremes to chemicals and bacteria, skin can…
Yes, farts are flammable. Intestinal gas contains hydrogen and methane, both of which burn, and lighting one produces a brief blue flame.…
Vinegar is a pretty interesting substance when you think about it. Some of us will put vinegar on our food for flavoring…
Nail polish is a common beauty product for people all over the world. Countless bottles are sold in stores and used in…
Men and women alike use shaving cream (or shaving gel, as the women’s product is called) to shave their faces and bodies…
Cinnamon has to be one of the most popular spices found in any kitchen cupboard. We enjoy the smell in cakes, candles,…
We use duct tape for so much in DIY and general repairs because it is such a strong and reliable way to…
When we talk about the dangers of fire, it is usually the flames that come to mind. We fear the ferocity of…
More than likely, you have some in your medicine cabinet right now. We’re talking about petroleum jelly, which is often applied to…