Abstract: At 12:21 p.m. on May 21, 2002, Employee #1, a contractor welder, was injured when another nearby contractor employee began to torch cut an out-of-service crude oil pipeline in a tank farm area at a 250,000 barrel-per-day refinery. The 24-inch by 1000-foot long crude line had been drained and emptied, but had not been steamed, cleaned, or made gas free when the incident occurred. The incident occurred as the welder's helper began torch cutting the top west end of the crude line when a sudden explosion and subsequent fire occurred that injured Employee #1, the welder, who was nearby on the same work platform as the helper. Employee #1 was treated with first aid and subsequently hospitalized for medical treatment for first-and-second-degree burns to the face, hands, arms, back and legs and a third-degree burn to the right calf. No other employees reported injuries.