Abstract: At 1:30 p.m. on November 6, 2019, an employee was working as a forklift operator for a commercial building contractor on a hotel renovation project. The employee was operating a Komatsu FG25T-16 forklift powered industrial vehicle (PIV). The employee had been employed by the employer for approximately 29 years. He had worked as a PIV operator at various location throughout the country and had been at the current work site for approximately 1 month. The employee worked Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. working weekends and overtime as needed. The employee was operating the PIV moving materials around the yard and loading and unloading trucks for deliveries to the job site. Just before lunch, the employee drove the PIV to a storage container where the PIV fuel was stored. He laid a towel on the ground to catch spills before beginning fueling the PIV. The gas can used reportedly routinely leaked. After the employee refueled the PIV he picked the towel up off of the ground and used it to wipe the excess gas off of the side of the vehicle. He then stored the towel on the PIV next to his seat. He sat on the PIV and proceeded to light a cigarette. As he went to strike the flame from the lighter, the towel and the seat caught on fire. The employee was transported to the hospital, where he was admitted for treatment of third degree burns to his back, arm, hip, leg, buttock, thighs, and groin area.