Safety Manager Sentenced to 19 Months for Involuntary Manslaughter in Hyperbaric Chamber Fire Death of 5-Year-Old Patient

A former safety manager at an alternative healthcare facility in Michigan has been sentenced to one year and seven months in prison for his role in the fatal hyperbaric chamber fire that killed a five-year-old patient in January 2025.

Jeffrey Mosteller, 66, received the sentence after pleading no contest to involuntary manslaughter in Oakland County Circuit Court on Monday. He was originally facing up to 15 years in prison before the plea agreement.

Mosteller served as the safety manager at the Oxford Center, an outpatient facility in Troy, Michigan, that provides hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for children diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and autoimmune disorders.

The incident occurred when Thomas Cooper, a 5-year-old from Royal Oak, was undergoing treatment for ADHD and sleep apnea inside the facility’s oxygen-rich hyperbaric chamber. The fire reportedly began when the child shifted position, dislodging a sheet from the chamber’s mattress and creating a static electricity spark that ignited the surrounding oxygen atmosphere.

Authorities report that Cooper was killed instantaneously in the ensuing explosion, while his mother sustained severe burns while attempting to access the chamber. Medical experts who reviewed incident footage confirmed the rapidity and intensity of the flash fire within the oxygen-enriched environment.

Mosteller is one of four former Oxford Center employees facing criminal charges related to Cooper’s death. The remaining three individuals — including the facility’s founder and CEO Tamela Peterson, facility manager Gary Marken, and chamber operator Aleta Moffitt — had not yet stood trial as of the time of Mosteller’s sentencing.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved HBOT for 13 medical conditions, including decompression sickness and severe burns, which involve delivering pure oxygen under controlled pressure. However, the therapy’s expanding use beyond traditional medical applications has sparked ongoing safety debates, particularly following advocacy from certain political figures.

Cooper’s family has pursued legal action, filing a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Oxford Center and the hyperbaric chamber manufacturer to hold them accountable for the fatal incident.

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