What we have here is a picture of a steam relief vents at an unnamed steam plant. We believe that it serves a condensate receiver and there is steam blowing by one of the traps. About every 15 minutes (hence, the "Old Faithful" nickname) the steam relief begins to build to the point that it is spraying 210°F water across the roof (roughly 20 to 25 feet) and onto a new cooling tower (you can see the stains on the tower basin).

In addition to the fact that, if you were walking on the roof or using the tower ladder, you would be scalded by hot water, it later turns into ice on the roof and the ladder to double its negative impact.