On Sep. 24, 2008, USW member Joseph Williams, 28, of Local 13227 was seriously injured while working at Kinder Morgan in Pasadena, Texas.

He was injured in an explosion in a manifold pit, the place where two pipelines connect. Brother Williams suffered third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body. He was transported to Memorial Hermann in Houston, Texas, where he is in a coma. 

Brother Williams is married and has three young boys. The USW's Emergency Response Team's Duronda Pope is assisting the family and Health and Safety's Kim Nibarger will investigate the accident.