A 5-year-old boy was tragically killed when a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber exploded last week at the Oxford Center in Troy, Michigan. A fire started inside the oxygen-rich chamber in which the little boy, identified as Thomas Cooper, was receiving treatment for an unknown condition. The child’s mother, standing nearby, was injured by the explosion.

According to The New York Times, emergency personnel found the boy dead and an investigation into the cause of the blaze is ongoing. The fire department said that a hyperbaric chamber contains 100% oxygen making it extremely combustible.

The Mayo Clinic states that such oxygen-rich environments increase the risk of fires. During the oxygen therapy in the specially designed chamber, air pressure is increased two to three times higher than normal air pressure.

Certified programs that provide oxygen therapy must follow special guidelines to prevent fires. Because hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) can enhance the body's natural healing process, it is used to treat a variety of medical conditions. This therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber, which increases the amount of oxygen in the blood. HBOT is commonly used for decompression sickness (a hazard of scuba diving) and to treat serious infections, bubbles of air in blood vessels, and wounds that won't heal due to diabetes or radiation injury.

According to Fort Wayne Integrative Medicine, HBOT is usually safe for children and can be beneficial in neurological conditions such as autism and cerebral palsy because the treatment pumps oxygen into the blood and promotes healthy circulation.

It can also enhance the growth of new blood vessels and support immune system activity, says the Mayo Clinic.

The Oxford Center issued a statement after the explosion that said, “The safety and well-being of the children we serve is our highest priority. Nothing like this has happened in our more than 15 years of providing this type of therapy. We do not know why or how this happened and will participate in all of the investigations that now need to take place."

According to  CBS Detroit, the medical facility is closed until further notice.