A 5-year-old Michigan boy who was being treated in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber died Friday when the chamber exploded.
The incident took place at the Oxford Center in Troy, Michigan, shortly before 8 a.m., according to the Detroit Free Press.
Troy Police Lt. Ben Hancock said the boy’s mother suffered injuries to her arms. She was standing next to the chamber when it exploded. The victims were not identified.
TRAGIC!!!
Hyperbaric Chamber EXPLODES with 5-yr-old boy from Royal Oak, MI inside!
The boy was killed and his mother was injured.
The explosion happened at the Oxford Center in Troy, MI. pic.twitter.com/sgVHzzVRHL
— PattyMI (@PattyLovesTruth) January 31, 2025
Hancock called the explosion as a “very sad incident.”
After the explosion, a fire broke out in the room that housed the hyperbaric chamber, according to Fox News.
The fire was contained to the room in which the chamber was housed.
The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined.
“The presence of such a high amount of oxygen in a pressurized environment can make it extremely combustible,” Lt. Keith Young of the Troy Fire Department said.
“Our initial research shows that this is not a common incident, and the scene remains under active investigation,” Young said.
“I’ve been with the department for 10 years and we’ve never responded to anything like this,” Young said, according to the Detroit News.
“I’m not aware of any incidents with these machines before,” Hancock said.
The chamber was on fire when first responders arrived. The boy was removed from the chamber. Authorities did not explain how long the boy had been in the chamber before the explosion.
Officials did not say what condition required the boy to be placed in a hyperbaric chamber.
The Oxford Center’s website said it is used for dozens of conditions, including autism, bone fractures, brain injury, cancer, chronic pain, and diseases such as Lyme or Parkinson’s.
“Nothing like this has happened in our more than 15 years of providing this type of therapy,” the medical facility said in a statement.
“Initially, it was a rescue so we went in for that, but we also had an active fire, so we had to deal with that,” Young said. “The chamber was open when we arrived, so we dealt with the fire first.”
Hyperbaric chambers contain 100 percent oxygen, which makes them potentially combustible.
“It’s a horrible, tragic incident,” Hancock said. “It’s not something that we ever want to have to respond to.”
The Detroit Free Press noted that in August, former center director Kimberly Coden pleaded guilty to nine charges after she was accused of using false credentials to treat children with autism.
She claimed she was a board-certified behavioral analyst when she was not, and also claimed to have degrees she allegedly did not receive, according to the report.
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