Monthly Briefing February 2025

It is too early to speculate on the cause of the January 31, 2025, Troy, Michigan monoplace hyperbaric chamber fire that claimed the life of a five-year-old child. We must await the results of a hoped-for authoritative independent investigation. In the meantime, this tragic event should give immediate pause to reflect on your facility’s hyperbaric safety plan. This would be expected to include a review of policies and procedures directed at fire prevention to ensure they reflect current standards (sensitive, for example, to several newly introduced battery powered devices such as biometric sensors incorporated into finger rings…which must be removed not taped over as one might tend to do with a hard to remove wedding band…and wrist bands, as well as numerous models of reading/smart glasses), ensure comprehensive adherence to the plan, including periodic practicing of mandatory hands-on safety drills.

Local press reporting and an initial police/fire department briefing referred to the event as a chamber explosion (explosion defined as a sudden outburst of energy with destructive shattering of a vessel or structure) suggesting the chamber had blown apart. This was apparently not the case. The fire was presumed essentially contained, although hot gases may have escaped through a compromised door seal. This would suggest, among other things, that the amount of combustible material (fuel burden) was not significant and contrasts with a 1996 monoplace chamber fire that did result in an explosion/structural failure. It proved fatal to both the occupant and his wife, who was standing in front of the chamber door and injured two nearby hospital staff members. This latter chamber’s heightened fuel burden, in the form of several blankets and personal clothing, which included an insulated winter jacket, was considered contributory to the explosive aspect of the fire.

As the Board learns more about this tragic event and what lessons may be learned, we will communicate further with you.

The Board extends its heartfelt condolences to the child’s family and all those who knew him.

Dick Clarke, President

National Board of Diving & Hyperbaric Medical Technology