As the hazard increases, what happens to the fire symbol number?

As the hazard increases, what happens to the fire symbol number?

• A. It increases
• B. It decreases
• C. It stays the same
• D. It becomes zero

Answer: (B)

Fire symbol numbers run on an inverse scale: as the fire hazard increases, the numeric indicator decreases. In this labeling system, 4 is the lowest fire hazard and 1 is the highest. So when hazard rises, the fire symbol number moves downward. Choosing an increasing number would contradict the convention, while staying the same would mean no change in hazard, and becoming zero would imply no fire hazard at all, which isn’t the case with a higher hazard level.

Fire symbol numbers run on an inverse scale: as the fire hazard increases, the numeric indicator decreases. In this labeling system, 4 is the lowest fire hazard and 1 is the highest. So when hazard rises, the fire symbol number moves downward. Choosing an increasing number would contradict the convention, while staying the same would mean no change in hazard, and becoming zero would imply no fire hazard at all, which isn’t the case with a higher hazard level.