Section F101 — GENERAL
2025 California Fire Code (Title 24, Part 9) · 2025 edition · updated 2026-07-27 · California
Italicized text is a California amendment to the model code, as printed in the official publication.
F101.1 Scope. ¶
Assignment of levels of hazards to be applied to specific hazard classes as required by NFPA 704 shall be in accordance with this appendix. The appendix is based on application of the degrees of hazard as defined in NFPA 704 arranged by hazard class as for specific categories defined in Chapter 2 of the California Fire Code and used throughout.
F101.2 General. ¶
The hazard rankings shown in Table F101.2 have been established by using guidelines found within NFPA 704. As noted in Section 4.2 of NFPA 704, there could be specific reasons to alter the degree of hazard assigned to a specific material; for example, ignition temperature, flammable range or susceptibility of a container to rupture by an internal combustion explosion or to metal failure while under pressure or because of heat from external fire. As a result, the degree of hazard assigned for the same material can vary when assessed by different people of equal competence.
The hazard rankings assigned to each class represent reasonable minimum hazard levels for a given class based on the use of criteria established by NFPA 704. Specific cases of use or storage may dictate the use of higher degrees of hazard in certain cases.
TABLE F101.2—FIREFIGHTER WARNING PLACARD DESIGNATIONS BASED ON HAZARD CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES
| HAZARD CATEGORY | DESIGNATION |
|---|---|
| Combustible liquid II | F2 |
| Combustible liquid IIIA | F2 |
| Combustible liquid IIIB | F1 |
| Combustible dust | F3 or F2a |
| Combustible fiber | F3 |
| Cryogenic flammable | F4, H3 |
| Cryogenic oxidizing | OX, H3 |
| Explosive | R4 |
| Flammable solid | F2 |
| Flammable gas (gaseous) | F4 |
| Flammable gas (liquefied) | F4 |
| Flammable liquid IA | F4 |
| Flammable liquid IB | F3 |
| Flammable liquid IC | F3 |
| Organic peroxide, UD | R4 |
| Organic peroxide I | F4, R3 |
| Organic peroxide II | F3, R3 |
| Organic peroxide III | F2, R2 |
| Organic peroxide IV | F1, R1 |
| Organic peroxide V | None |
| Oxidizing gas (gaseous) | OX |
| Oxidizing gas (liquefied) | OX |
on Jul 18, 2025 11:14 AM (CDT) THEREUNDER.
APPENDIX F—HAZARD RANKING
TABLE F101.2—FIREFIGHTER WARNING PLACARD DESIGNATIONS BASED ON HAZARD CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES—continued
| HAZARD CATEGORY | DESIGNATION |
|---|---|
| Oxidizer 4 | OX4 |
| Oxidizer 3 | OX3 |
| Oxidizer 2 | OX2 |
| Oxidizer 1 | OX1 |
| Pyrophoric gases | F4 |
| Pyrophoric solids, liquids | F3 |
| Unstable reactive 4D | R4 |
| Unstable reactive 3D | R4 |
| Unstable reactive 3N | R2 |
| Unstable reactive 2 | R2 |
| Unstable reactive 1 | None |
| Water reactive 3 | W3 |
| Water reactive 2 | W2 |
| Corrosive | H3, COR |
| Toxic | H3 |
| Highly toxic | H4 |
| a. F3 = Finely divided solids, typically less than 75 micrometers (μm) (200 mesh), that pose an elevated risk of forming an ignitable dust cloud, such as finely divided sulfur,the California Electrical Code Group E dusts (for example, aluminum, zirconium and titanium) and bisphenol A. F2 = Finely divided solids less than 420μm (40 mesh) that pose an ordinary risk of forming an ignitable dust cloud. F—Flammable category. R—Reactive category. H—Health category. W—Special hazard: water reactive. OX—Special hazard: oxidizing properties. COR—Corrosive. UD—Unclassified detonable material. 4D—Class 4 detonable material. 3D—Class 3 detonable material. 3N—Class 3 nondetonable material. |
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Ask AI about this code▸ Contents — 2025 California Fire Code (Title 24, Part 9)
- Chapter 1 — ADMINISTRATION
- Chapter 2 — DEFINITIONS
- Chapter 3 — GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
- Chapter 4 — EMERGENCY PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS
- Chapter 5 — FIRE SERVICE FEATURES
- Chapter 6 — BUILDING SERVICES AND SYSTEMS
- Chapter 7 — FIRE AND SMOKE PROTECTION FEATURES
- Chapter 8 — INTERIOR FINISH, DECORATIVE MATERIALS AND FURNISHI…
- Chapter 9 — FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS
- Chapter 10 — MEANS OF EGRESS
- Chapter 11 — CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS
- Chapter 12 — ENERGY SYSTEMS
- Chapter 20 — AVIATION FACILITIES
- Chapter 21 — DRY CLEANING
- Chapter 22 — COMBUSTIBLE DUST-PRODUCING OPERATIONS
- Chapter 23 — MOTOR FUEL-DISPENSING FACILITIES AND REPAIR GARAGES
- Chapter 24 — FLAMMABLE FINISHES
- Chapter 25 — FRUIT AND CROP RIPENING
- Chapter 26 — FUMIGATION AND INSECTICIDAL FOGGING
- Chapter 27 — SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION FACILITIES
- Chapter 28 — LUMBER YARDS AND AGRO-INDUSTRIAL, SOLID BIOMASS A…
- Chapter 29 — MANUFACTURE OF ORGANIC COATINGS
- Chapter 30 — INDUSTRIAL OVENS
- Chapter 31 — TENTS, TEMPORARY SPECIAL EVENT STRUCTURES AND OTH…
- Chapter 32 — HIGH-PILED COMBUSTIBLE STORAGE
- Chapter 33 — FIRE SAFETY DURING CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION
- Chapter 34 — TIRE REBUILDING AND TIRE STORAGE
- Chapter 35 — WELDING AND OTHER HOT WORK
- Chapter 36 — MARINAS
- Chapter 37 — COMBUSTIBLE FIBERS
- Chapter 38 — RESERVED
- Chapter 39 — PROCESSING AND EXTRACTION FACILITIES
- Chapter 40 — STORAGE OF DISTILLED SPIRITS AND WINES
- Chapter 41 — TEMPORARY HEATING AND COOKING OPERATIONS
- Chapter 48 — MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION STUDIO S…
- Chapter 49 — REQUIREMENTS FOR WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE FIRE AR…
- Chapter 50 — HAZARDOUS MATERIALS—GENERAL PROVISIONS
- Chapter 51 — AEROSOLS
- Chapter 52 — RESERVED
- Chapter 53 — COMPRESSED GASES
- Chapter 54 — CORROSIVE MATERIALS
- Chapter 55 — CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
- Chapter 56 — EXPLOSIVES AND FIREWORKS
- Chapter 57 — FLAMMABLE AND COMBUSTIBLE LIQUIDS
- Chapter 58 — FLAMMABLE GASES AND FLAMMABLE CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
- Chapter 59 — FLAMMABLE SOLIDS
- Chapter 60 — HIGHLY TOXIC AND TOXIC MATERIALS
- Chapter 61 — LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GASES
- Chapter 62 — ORGANIC PEROXIDES
- Chapter 63 — OXIDIZERS, OXIDIZING GASES AND OXIDIZING CRYOGENI…
- Chapter 64 — PYROPHORIC MATERIALS
- Chapter 65 — PYROXYLIN (CELLULOSE NITRATE) PLASTICS
- Chapter 66 — UNSTABLE (REACTIVE) MATERIALS
- Chapter 67 — WATER-REACTIVE SOLIDS AND LIQUIDS
- Chapter 80 — REFERENCED STANDARDS
- Appendix Chapter 4 — SPECIAL DETAILED REQUIREMENTS BASED ON US…
- Appendix A — BOARD OF APPEALS
- Appendix B — FIRE-FLOW REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDINGS
- Appendix BB — FIRE-FLOW REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDINGS
- Appendix C — FIRE HYDRANT LOCATIONS AND DISTRIBUTION
- Appendix CC — FIRE HYDRANT LOCATIONS AND DISTRIBUTION
- Appendix D — FIRE APPARATUS ACCESS ROADS
- Appendix E — HAZARD CATEGORIES
-
▸ Appendix F — HAZARD RANKING
- Appendix G — CRYOGENIC FLUIDS—WEIGHT AND VOLUME EQUIVALENTS
- Appendix H — HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MANAGEMENT PLANS AND HAZARDOU…
- Appendix I — FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS—NONCOMPLIANT CONDITIONS
- Appendix J — BUILDING INFORMATION SIGN
- Appendix K — CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING AMBULATORY…
- Appendix L — REQUIREMENTS FOR FIREFIGHTER AIR REPLENISHMENT SY…
- Appendix M — HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS—RETROACTIVE AUTOMATIC SPRINKL…
- Appendix N — INDOOR TRADE SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS
- Appendix O — VALET TRASH AND RECYCLING COLLECTION IN GROUP R-2…
- Appendix P — TEMPORARY HAUNTED HOUSES, GHOST WALKS AND SIMILAR…
- Appendix Q — COMMUNITY WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE (WUI) FIRE HAZ…