Abstract: At approximately 11:00 a.m. on July 6, 1999, Employee #1 died and Employee #2 was critically injured when an explosion and a fire occurred at the Pan American Banana Company, located in Los Angeles, California. The explosion caused the roof of the building and the interior wall to collapse. The warehouse building is used for banana ripening and storage. Prior to the explosion, the banana ripening process took place inside Room Number 10. The banana ripening rooms are tightly enclosed and sealed. Ethylene gas was used to ripen the bananas. Room Number 10 had an ethylene compressed cylinder and an ethylene generator with two quarts of ethanol. Employee #1 died and Employee #2 was critically injured in an explosion inside Room Number 10. Paramedics and the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the explosion and fire. Employee #2 was transported to U.S.C. Medical Center for treatments.