LAKE HAVASU CITY, Arizona - A 43-year-old physical therapist was found dead on July 9 inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at his health clinic in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, after the device caught on fire, according to officials.

The Lake Havasu City Fire Department said in a statement on July 10 that fire and police personnel were dispatched to Havasu Health and Hyperbarics on July 9 at 10.50pm local time after receiving a 911 call about a burn victim.

When they arrived, they found the building was filled with smoke and an intact hyperbaric chamber appeared to have had a flash fire while a person was inside.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene and identified as Dr Walter Foxcroft.

He was the owner of the clinic, according to a LinkedIn page in his name. No one else was injured.

The Lake Havasu City Fire and Police departments said on July 11 that they were still investigating the cause of the fire and the circumstances surrounding Dr Foxcroft’s death.

It was not clear why Dr Foxcroft was in the chamber. The clinic did not immediately respond to a request for comment on July 11.

He is at least the second person to die in 2024 after a fire broke out in a hyperbaric chamber.

In February, an oxygen-rich hyperbaric chamber at a medical facility in Michigan exploded and killed a 5-year-old boy, who had been receiving medical treatment.

The owner of the medical centre and two employees were later charged with murder and accused of ignoring safety standards, and one worker was charged with manslaughter.

Hyperbaric oxygen chambers are pressurised tubes in which patients receive pure oxygen, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Patients lie inside and have either a mask or a clear hood placed over their heads.

There is a significant risk of fire in and around the chambers because they are an oxygen-rich environment, and it is also not always possible to quickly get out of a chamber when a fire sparks.

“Due to the enclosed and pressurised nature of the chamber, it is impossible to quickly open the door when the chamber is pressurised,” according to the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Centre.

The goal of the treatments is to speed up the healing of damaged or infected tissue that is “starved for oxygen,” and a prescription from a health care provider is required to receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

It is most commonly used to treat serious trauma, such as crushing injuries that block blood flow, carbon dioxide poisoning, decompression sickness or to save limbs that are fighting infection.

But on its website, the Arizona clinic appears to advertise hyperbaric oxygen therapy for a variety of treatments that are not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including anti-ageing and autism treatments.

“There currently isn’t enough research and testing to conclude that hyperbaric oxygen therapy safely and effectively treats these conditions,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr Foxcroft, a Lake Havasu City resident, held a doctorate in physical therapy from Touro University Nevada and a bachelor’s degree in physiological science from the University of Arizona, where he was also a mascot, according to the LinkedIn page.

Havasu News, a local news site, reported that the clinic had a sign taped to the front door the morning after Dr Foxcroft died saying it was closed until further notice.

Several bouquets of flowers and a note had been left at the door. NYTIMES

More on this topic