Abstract: Employee #1 and a coworker, loop technicians for Mountain Bell, were making telephone repairs inside a 4 ft deep by 4 ft 1/2 in. wide by 7 ft long excavation. Employee #1 was flame brushing a damage telephone line while the coworker stood at ground level on the south wall, watching him. The employee turned off the torch and laid it on a blanket facing the south wall. The coworker took approximately three steps away from the excavation and then heard a huge gush. He turned to see the excavation and Employee #1 engulfed in flames. The employee was transported to the burn unit at Maricopa Medical Center, suffering from third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body. He died on March 5, 1988, as a result of injuries sustained in the explosion.