“THIS IS ARROGANCE” — SAFETY DIRECTOR SENTENCED AFTER 5-YEAR-OLD BOY DIES IN HYPERBARIC CHAMBER FIRE

A five-year-old boy went into a hyperbaric chamber for treatment.

He never came home.

Now, more than a year after Thomas Cooper died in a fiery chamber explosion, a former safety director has been sentenced to prison — and the judge delivered a brutal message about the safety decisions that preceded the tragedy.

“This is arrogance,” Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwamé Rowe said during the sentencing of Jeffrey Mosteller.

THE TREATMENT THAT TURNED DEADLY

Thomas was receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy at The Oxford Center in Troy, Michigan, on January 31, 2025.

The five-year-old was being treated for ADHD and sleep apnea when a fire erupted inside the hyperbaric chamber.

The oxygen-rich environment allowed the fire to rapidly become catastrophic, and the chamber exploded.

Thomas died.

His mother, who rushed to try to save her son, suffered burns during the desperate rescue attempt.

THE SAFETY MEASURE AT THE CENTER OF THE CASE

Investigators and prosecutors focused heavily on one safety issue:

Grounding straps were not being used.

The straps are designed to safely discharge static electricity and reduce the risk of sparks — an especially important precaution inside an oxygen-rich environment.

According to prosecutors, both the National Fire Protection Association and the chamber’s manufacturer had established safety protocols requiring precautions that were not followed.

Mosteller was the facility’s safety director.

Prosecutors argued that he knew grounding straps were necessary but failed to take corrective action.

During sentencing, Judge Rowe told Mosteller that it was his responsibility to speak up and insist that the safety measure be used.

“It was incumbent upon you to say something,” the judge said.

“HE DIDN’T THINK HE WAS PUTTING THOMAS’ LIFE IN DANGER”

Mosteller pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter.

He was sentenced to 19 months to 15 years in prison, becoming the first of four people charged in connection with Thomas’ death to complete his criminal proceedings.

His attorney, Alona Sharon, told the court that the practice of not using grounding straps began before Mosteller joined the facility.

But she acknowledged that he failed to correct the practice.

She also said she did not believe Mosteller thought he was putting Thomas’ life at risk.

Mosteller did not address the court himself.

A FAMILY TOO HEARTBROKEN TO SPEAK

Thomas’ family did not attend the sentencing.

They also did not submit a victim-impact statement.

A prosecutor explained that the loss remains simply too painful for the family to publicly address.

Thomas’ death has also resulted in a separate civil lawsuit filed by his parents against the facility and the chamber manufacturer.

For his family, no sentence can change what happened on January 31, 2025.

Their five-year-old son went in for treatment.

Instead, they lost him in a tragedy prosecutors say could have been prevented.

THREE MORE PEOPLE STILL FACE CRIMINAL CASES

Mosteller is not the only person facing consequences.

Three other former Oxford Center employees remain involved in the criminal case.

They include facility CEO Tamela Peterson, facility manager Gary Marken, and chamber operator Aleta Moffitt.

Peterson and Marken face charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, while Moffitt faces involuntary manslaughter and a charge related to allegedly placing false information in a medical record.

Those cases remain pending, and the allegations against those defendants have not been proven in court.

But the first sentence has now been handed down.

And the words from the judge may be the ones that stay with this case:

“This is arrogance.”

A little boy is gone.

A family is left grieving.

And investigators are still trying to determine how a treatment that was supposed to help a child became a preventable nightmare.