Abstract: At 1:50 p.m. on September 26, 2013, an employee was working in a dewatering pit and using lacquer thinner to prepare pipes for painting. The pit measured 8 feet by 5.5 feet and was 10 feet deep. A straight ladder was used to access the pit. The employee took a 1-gallon pail of lacquer thinner into the pit and used the thinner to prepare pipes for painting. The employee worked with thinner in the pit for more than one hour. The employee was found on the floor of the pit by coworker #1. Coworker #1 instructed coworker #2 to enter the pit and provide assistance. Coworker #1 went upstairs to call emergency services because there was no reception in the basement. When coworker #1 returned, he found coworker #2 still standing inside the pit, but unresponsive. The employee succumbed while coworker #2 recovered. The fire department obtained an oxygen reading of 17% in the pit after ventilation and that the employee was overcome by toluene. The employee wore a filtering facepiece respirator.