Boy, 5, dies in hyperbaric chamber explosion at Michigan medical facility

TROY, Michigan -- A pressurized oxygen enclosure exploded Friday, sidesplitting a 5-year-old diligent and injuring his parent astatine a suburban Detroit aesculapian facility.

The hyperbaric enclosure detonation occurred astir 8 a.m. astatine the Oxford Center successful Troy, northbound of Detroit.

The child, from Royal Oak, Michigan, had been wrong the instrumentality and was pronounced dormant astatine the scene.

"The parent of the kid suffered immoderate injuries to her arms arsenic she was lasting close adjacent to the enclosure arsenic the detonation occurred," Troy constabulary Lt. Ben Hancock said. "We don't cognize precisely what the kid was being treated for astatine the halfway today."

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases the transportation of oxygen to a person's assemblage by providing axenic oxygen successful an enclosed abstraction with higher than mean aerial pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The Mayo Clinic says the therapy includes attraction for decompression sickness, superior insubstantial illness oregon wounds, trapped aerial bubbles successful humor vessels, c monoxide poisoning, and insubstantial harm from radiation therapy.

Hyperbaric chambers incorporate 100% oxygen, which is up to 5 times the magnitude of oxygen successful a mean room, Troy Fire Lt. Keith Young said Friday astatine a quality conference.

"The beingness of specified a precocious magnitude of oxygen successful a pressurized situation tin marque it highly combustible," Young said. "We did immoderate archetypal investigation. This is precise uncommon, truthful we're not definite what led up to it."

Staff from the halfway besides were successful the room, but nary different injuries were reported.

The detonation was contained to the chamber. A occurrence successful the country had to beryllium enactment out, Young said.

The Oxford Center said successful an email that a occurrence started wrong the hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

"The information and wellbeing of the children we service is our highest priority," the halfway said. "Nothing similar this has happened successful our much than 15 years of providing this benignant of therapy. We bash not cognize wherefore oregon however this happened and volition enactment successful each of the investigations that present request to instrumentality place."

The probe into the detonation and occurrence volition beryllium turned implicit to the state, Young said.