NFPA Diamond Diagram Guide (National Fire Protection Association)

NFPA diamond diagram also known as the safety diamond, is developed by the Nation Fire Protection Association for hazard identification and still, and it is widely used over the world. The National Fire Protection Association was established as a nonprofit organization in 1896. One can also call this NFPA 704 and a couple of other names, such as safety square and Fire diamond.

This is designed to provide information quickly related to the identification of risks of hazardous materials, which will help the emergency response team to act accordingly.

There are lots of terms that are associated with industry, and among those, this is one of them. Previously, we had discussed what is Hazchem Code Chart & Details With Examples Similarly, today, in this post, we will learn what is fire diamond diagram its uses and chart.

What is NFPA Diamond diagram?

NFPA diagram consists of four divisions with color and has a number from (0-4)  in three of the divisions and a special character written in one of them. Each division is coloured Red, blue, white, and yellow which indicates health hazards, flammability, reactivity, and special hazards that chemicals may possess during a fire.

Purpose of the safety diagram.

Fire diamond is to convey the instruction to fire the fighting person about the hazard to the human from the chemical. It represents a hazard to human health in 4 aspects: health, Flammability, reactivity, and special hazard. One can see these fire diamond diagram trucks transporting chemicals, chemical storage containers, cylinders, or drums.

NFPA Diamond Diagram Chart

Health Hazard

• 4 – Deadly
• 3 – Extremely dangerous
• 2 – Hazardous
• 1 – Slightly Hazardous
• 0 – Normal Material

Flammability Hazard

• 4 – Material with a flash point below 73 ºF
• 3 – Material with a flash point below 100 ºF
• 2 – Material with a flash point below 200 ºF
• 1 – Material with a flash point above 200 ºF
• 0 – Will Not Burn

Reactivity

• 4 – May detonate
• 3 – Shock and heat may detonate
• 2 – Violent chemical change
• 1 – Unstable when heated
• 0 – Stable

Special Hazard

• ACID – Acid
• ALK – Alkali
• COR – Corrosive
• OXY – Oxidizer
• ☢ – Radioactive
• W – Use No Water

Example of Chart of Chlorine

Here is an example of chlorine, in which the rating is given as below: – Read MSDS of chlorine

• Health – 4 – Here, 4 indicates that this can be lethal.
• Flammability – 0 – Will not burn
• Reactivity – 0 – Normally stable
• Special Hazard – OX  – Possesses oxidizing properties.

GHS Hazard pictograms are used to label hazardous chemicals which provide Instant visual alerts about the danger.

How to find NFPA rating?

You can find the authentic NFPA hazard diagram from the Material Safety Data Sheet of the chemicals. You can use the MSDS Search Tool to search SDS easily.

FAQ (Hazardous Materials Identification)

Wrapping Up

This was brief on what is NFPA diamond guide is and its purpose. Suppose you are related to the chemical industry or you want to learn more about industrial safety. In that case, you can read industrial safety articles where we had covered important topics in brief. In the meantime, you can read 6 Steps Of Hazard Prevention which will help you to know what workplace safety is and how to prevent it.