Boy, 5, ‘incinerated’ in oxygen chamber while undergoing alternative treatment for ADHD
12 March 2025, 12:24
A five-year-old boy has been "incinerated" after being placed in a pressurised oxygen chamber to treat his ADHD.
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Five people have been charged after Thomas Cooper, 5, died in the US state of Michigan.
The boy was pronounced dead on the scene and his mum, who was standing near the chamber, suffered injuries on her arms when the chamber exploded on January 31.
Young Thomas was undergoing an alternative treatment for his ADHD known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurised chamber.
"A single spark it appears ignited into a fully involved fire that claimed Thomas's life within seconds," attorney general Dana Nessel told reporters on Tuesday.
"Fires inside a hyperbaric chamber are considered a terminal event.
“Every such fire is almost certainly fatal and this is why many procedures and essential safety practices have been developed to keep a fire from ever occurring."
Five staff members at the Oxford Center in Detroit have been charged in connection with the boy’s death, court documents show.
Founder and chief executive, Tamela Peterson, has been charged with second-degree murder.
The centre’s 65-year-old manager, Gary Marken, its safety manager, Gary Mosteller, 64 and the chamber’s operator, Aleta Moffitt, 60, have also been charged.
Lawyers representing Marken described the murder charge as a “total shock.”
Raymond Cassar said: “This was a tragic accident and our thoughts and our prayers go out to the family of this little boy.
“I want to remind everyone that this was an accident, not an intentional act. We’re going to have to leave this up to the experts to find out what was the cause of this.”
In a statement given after the tragic incident, the Oxford Centre said “the safety and wellbeing of the children we serve is our highest priority.”
“Nothing like this has happened in our more than 15 years of providing this type of therapy. We do not know why or how this happened and will participate in all of the investigations that now need to take place,” the center’s statement added.
Ms Nessel said preliminary investigations into the conditions at the centre have led police to “horrifying and simple conclusions.”
She said: “The Oxford Center routinely operated sensitive and lethally dangerous hyperbaric chambers beyond their expected service lifetime and in complete disregard of vital safety measures and practices considered essential by medical and technical professionals.”
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