Abstract: At approximately 3:00 p.m. on December 29, 2008, a research assistant was working in her laboratory and was withdrawing approximately 20 ml. of tertiary butyl lithium in pentane from a sealed container using a plastic syringe. The maximum capacity of the syringe was 60 ml. As she was withdrawing the liquid, the syringe came out of the barrel, causing the mixture to leak out and spill on the research assistant's clothing, torso and hands. Upon contact with air the liquid immediately caught fire. (The compound is pyrophoric and will ignite spontaneously in contact with air.) A coworker smothered the flames with his lab coat. Another coworker threw water from a sink at her. Emergency responders were called and wheeled the research assistant under the laboratory's emergency shower, and then transported her to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. She was then transferred to Grossman Burn Center located in Sherman Oaks on the same day. The injured worker died on January 16, 2009, while being treated at the Grossman Medical Center.