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

A five-year-old boy entered a Michigan medical facility for treatment.

He never came home.

More than a year later, the man responsible for safety at the facility has been sentenced to prison — after prosecutors said basic safety procedures that could have prevented the tragedy were ignored.

Jeffrey Mosteller, the former safety director at the Oxford Center in Troy, Michigan, was sentenced to 19 months to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper.

But inside the courtroom, one word from the judge stood out.

“Arrogance.”

THE TREATMENT THAT ENDED IN TRAGEDY

Thomas was undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the Oxford Center on January 31, 2025.

The facility provided hyperbaric treatment to adults and children with a variety of conditions.

Thomas was being treated for sleep apnea and ADHD.

Then, during his session, something went terribly wrong.

The hyperbaric chamber caught fire from the inside and exploded.

Thomas could not be rescued.

His mother, who was nearby, rushed toward the chamber in an attempt to save her son and suffered burns to her arms in the process, according to the family’s attorney.

For his family, the five-year-old’s treatment session became an unimaginable tragedy.

THE SAFETY MEASURE THAT WAS NOT USED

Investigators focused on one critical piece of equipment: a grounding strap.

Grounding straps are designed to discharge static electricity and reduce the risk of a spark — an especially important precaution in an oxygen-rich hyperbaric environment.

According to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office, both the National Fire Protection Association and Sechrist, the chamber’s manufacturer, had established safety protocols requiring precautions that were not followed at the Oxford Center.

A previous court hearing revealed that a grounding strap was found in a “junk drawer” at the facility.

An expert testified that properly grounding Thomas would likely have prevented the static spark that triggered the fire and explosion.

The detail became one of the most disturbing parts of the case.

The safety equipment existed.

But it was not being used.

“IT WAS INCUMBENT UPON YOU TO SAY SOMETHING”

During Mosteller’s sentencing, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwamé Rowe did not hold back.

The judge criticized the decision to operate the chamber without following established safety standards.

“This is arrogance,” Rowe said, describing the attitude as essentially believing the facility knew better than the national fire code, the manufacturer’s instructions and its own training and experience.

Mosteller had been the facility’s safety director.

That meant, the judge emphasized, that once he returned to the center, it was his responsibility to recognize the danger and speak up.

The prosecution argued that the tragedy was not simply an unavoidable accident.

It was the consequence of decisions that placed safety rules aside.

HIS LAWYER: THE PRACTICE STARTED BEFORE HE ARRIVED

Mosteller’s attorney, Alona Sharon, offered a different piece of context.

She told the court that the facility’s practice of not using grounding straps had begun before Mosteller started working there.

But she acknowledged that her client failed to correct the practice once he was in the position responsible for safety.

She described it as a horrific mistake and lapse in judgment.

Mosteller himself did not address the court before receiving his sentence.

THOMAS’ FAMILY COULDN’T FACE THE COURTROOM

Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking details came at the sentencing itself.

Thomas’ family was not there.

They did not submit a victim-impact statement.

A prosecutor told the court that the family simply remained too devastated by what happened to publicly speak about the tragedy.

More than a year after Thomas’ final treatment session, the pain was apparently still too overwhelming.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said that no sentence could reverse the loss, but expressed hope that the conviction would provide Thomas’ family with some sense of justice.

HE WAS ONLY FIVE

Thomas was not an adult making a decision about a risky procedure.

He was a five-year-old child.

His family had brought him to the Oxford Center seeking treatment.

Instead, his final session ended with a fire inside a chamber designed to contain a highly oxygenated environment.

His mother tried to reach him.

She was injured.

And Thomas never walked out.

The tragedy has since raised serious questions about how the facility operated its hyperbaric program and why established safety procedures were not followed.

MOSTELLER IS THE FIRST TO BE SENTENCED

Mosteller is the first of four people charged in connection with Thomas’ death to complete criminal proceedings.

Three others still face charges.

They include Oxford Center CEO Tamela Peterson and operations director Gary Marken, who face second-degree murder and alternative involuntary manslaughter charges.

Chamber operator Aleta Moffitt faces an involuntary manslaughter charge as well as a charge alleging that she intentionally placed false information in a medical record.

Their cases remain pending.

A separate civil case brought by Thomas’ family is also pending.

A TRAGEDY THAT PROSECUTORS SAY COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED

The most painful question surrounding Thomas’ case is also the simplest.

Could this have been prevented?

Michigan prosecutors say yes.

The Attorney General’s office described the incident as a completely preventable tragedy, arguing that an outdated device was allowed to operate despite established safety standards.

The sentencing does not bring Thomas back.

It does not erase the memory of his mother trying desperately to reach him.

And it does not undo the grief his family has carried since January 31, 2025.

But the case has now produced its first prison sentence.

A safety director who prosecutors say failed to correct a known safety problem will spend at least 19 months behind bars — and potentially as long as 15 years.

For a family that lost a five-year-old boy during what was supposed to be a medical treatment, the courtroom chapter is only one part of a much longer search for answers.

Thomas Cooper went into the chamber for treatment.

A devastating fire followed.

And more than a year later, a judge delivered the bluntest assessment of the failure that preceded it:

“This is arrogance.”