Abstract: At approximately 12:00 noon on September 9, 2005, Employee #1 and #2, both welders, were repairing a leaking 20-in.-diameter carbide steel injection geothermal pipeline. Employee #1 released a come-along (a ratchet-chain puller/hoist) that was securing a temporary metal saddle patch (10 in. by 10 in. by 0.5 in.) covering a previously-repaired leak on the pipeline. The pipeline then ruptured, releasing steam and pressurized hot water (170 degrees Fahrenheit and 380 psi). The release created an 8-ft-deep, 25-ft-diameter crater. Both employees were sprayed with the hot water that escaped from the ruptured pipeline, and were both thrown away from the pipeline. Employee #1 was hospitalized at UCSD Burn Center for third-degree burns to back of his right leg, the left side of his body (from his hip to his armpit), his back, and his stomach. Employee #2 was hospitalized at El Centro Regional Center for burns to his left shoulder and left arm, and contusions to his shoulder and elbow.