Abstract: At about 1:00 p.m. on August 6, 1994, Employee #1, a truck driver for Auburn Placer Disposal Service, was helping a tireman change a tire on his pickup truck at the company's tire shop. They were mounting an LT 235/85R16 tire and were having trouble getting the bead to seat on the rim (there is speculation that it may have been a 16 1/2 in. rim). Employee #1 took a tire hammer and struck the tire several times to try and get the bead to seat; the last strike caused the sidewall on the bottom side of the tire to rupture. The ensuing explosion blasted the tire and rim 20 ft off the floor to the ceiling. Employee #1 was struck in the hand and arm and thrown about 10 ft. He sustained a shattered hand and wrist and lower arm injuries; some bone fragments were never found because they were scattered about the shop. The tire was being changed on a flat concrete floor, without a restraining device and with an air hose that lacked an in-line valve, gauge, or pressure regulator. The tireman thought that the pressure was at about 50 to 60 psi, but it could have been as much as 150 psi.