Everyone who works with these liquids must be aware of their hazards and how to work safely with them. Sometimes more than one flashpoint is reported for a chemical. Since testing methods and purity of the liquid tested may vary, flashpoints are intended to be used as guides only, not as fine lines between safe and unsafe. Flammable and combustible liquids themselves do not burn. It is the mixture of their vapours and air that burns.
Phenol is a combustible liquid.
A material's flammable or explosive limits also relate to its fire and explosion hazards. These limits give the range between the lowest and highest concentrations of vapour in air that will burn or explode. This means that gasoline can be ignited when it is in the air at levels between 1.4 and 7.6 percent. Flammable limits, like flashpoints however, are intended as guides not as fine lines between safe and unsafe. A material's autoignition or ignition temperature is the temperature at which a material self-ignites without any obvious sources of ignition, such as a spark or flame.