Abstract: At 1:45 p.m. on March 4, 2024, an employee was performing slag pit operations inside the furnace slag pit where the molten slag was being smoothed out in preparation for a drop. As Employee #1 was moving the molten slag with a CAT 988H Wheel Loader, the drive shaft and hydraulic hoses broke, causing a fire. The employee, who was over molten slag when the fire began, was engulfed in flames within two seconds. The CAT 988H could not move and it took approximately 12 minutes to suppress the fire enough before the loader could be pulled out of the slag pit. The CAT 988H was operated without various components for protection against extreme temperatures. The employee sustained multiple thermal burns and was transported to the hospital, where he died.