Abstract: At approximately 9:30 a.m. on March 10, 1987, Employee #1, a skein dye beck unit operator, was walking behind a carpet dye beck unit in a carpet mill when he fell through a 58-in. by 15-ft opening in the floor into hot water. The floor was being replaced, and the maintenance workers had placed an unsecured piece of 2-in. angle iron about 38 in. above the floor and 50 in. from the opening to serve as a barrier. Employee #1's vision was obscured by steam created by hot water being dumped from two beck units at the same time. He died 13 days later from third-degree burns over the lower half of his body. There were no eyewitnesses and no police or fire department reports.