What is the fire point of a liquid?

The fire point of a liquid is defined as the temperature at which the liquid can sustain combustion after being ignited. This means that once the liquid reaches its fire point, it produces enough heat and flammable vapors to continue burning even when the ignition source is removed. This is significant in fire investigations and safety assessments, as it helps assess the flammability and potential dangers associated with different liquids.

Understanding fire point is crucial because it indicates a more stable combustion than the flash point, which only refers to the temperature needed to produce a flammable vapor that can ignite temporarily. Therefore, the fire point gives a clearer picture of when a liquid poses a real and ongoing fire risk.

Other answer choices, while relevant to thermodynamic properties of liquids, do not accurately describe the fire point. The boiling point and flammable vapor production are separate concepts that do not fully capture the sustained nature of combustion represented by the fire point.