The mother of a five-year-old boy recounted her horrifying experience of her failed attempt to save her son, who died after a hyperbaric chamber he was in exploded.
The victim was identified as Thomas Cooper, who was receiving oxygen therapy at The Oxford Center located in Troy, Michigan. On Jan. 31, 2025, the facility exploded while the young boy was still inside, burning him alive.
Young Boy Dies Inside Hyperbaric Chamber
The boy's mother, Anni Cooper, desperately tried to save her son and remove him from the flames but was unsuccessful. The family's lawyer recently detailed the horrifying injuries that the five-year-old boy's mother suffered while trying to save her son from the incident.
The lawyer, James Harrington of Feiger Law, said that Annie suffered significant burns on her arm following her attempts to rescue her son. He added that the mother had visible burns but noted that the real problem was that she had suffered emotional trauma.
Following the horrific accident, a GoFundMe page was set up to help financially support the family of the victim with the costs of Thomas' death. However, the boy's mother, who appears to be the one who set it up, has already decided to suspend the page, according to Unilad.
The page describes Thomas's favorite activities when he was alive, such as singing, "I love mama, I love mama, I love mama so very much." The five-year-old was also fond of saying that his mother was the best in the whole world.
It added that Thomas was the "smartest and cutest kid that liked to zoom, zoom, zoom." The page said that the young boy enjoyed looking at pictures of germs, learning how things worked, and making field journals.
The Cause of the Incident
Following an investigation into the incident that resulted in Thomas' death, Troy Fire Lt. Keith Young said that investigators do not yet know the exact cause of the hyperbaric chamber catching fire, the Detroit Free Press reported.
However, the hyperbaric chamber contained concentrated oxygen and was very pressured, which could have fueled the flames. Spokesman Andrew Kistner said the cause of the incident was still unknown, adding that it was an "exceptionally difficult day for all of us."
Harrington added that the five-year-old boy's parents decided to bring him to The Oxford Center because he had sleep apnea and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. However, the Federal Drug and Food Administration (FDA) has not officially approved the chambers.
Hyperbaric chambers have a "higher" air pressure than usual to help patients breathe in 100% pure oxygen. However, the agency said that the chambers were not proven to cure various diseases, such as cancer, Lyme disease, autism, or Alzheimer's disease, as per People.
