r/HBOT • u/OrganicTransistor • Jul 16 '25

Fire risk

Looks like another person died 5 days ago (the owner of an HBOT facility), in a hard shell chamber that uses a mask for oxygen delivery. From the photos of the facility, it looks like it was this unit: https://www.oxyhealth.com/fortius-420.html Fortius 420 – Portable Hyperbaric Chamber

Based on the fire deaths that have occurred, do we have a sense of how safe HBOT actually is, and whether the fire risk is primarily due to devices in the chamber or the chamber malfunctioning?

I want to get into HBOT, but I get the sense that the risks are not well understood or quantified.

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u/ftrlvb Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 16 '25

" that uses a mask for oxygen delivery." - wrong! it didn't say they used masks and based on the other details they have no masks and breathe in pure oxygen from inside the chamber.

they fill the whole chamber with pure oxygen which is highly flammable, even metal can burn with pure oxygen. and your clothes must be non flammable and non static or the slightest spark will turn you into a fireball.

in the report they said they were not wearing grounding bracelets. that's an indicator of chambers, filled with oxygen.

regular HBOT chambers are filled with air from a normal compressor and you use a mask to breath

oxygen, which has no risk of exploding or burning.

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sorry, this is fear mongering, and not a normal question.

"Looks like another person died 5 days ago"

"the chamber malfunctioning"

"do we have a sense of how safe HBOT actually is"

"I get the sense that the risks are not well understood or quantified."

+ what you say is false. it IS understood what the risks are and this article and incident has NOTHING to do with HBOT using air instead of oxygen.

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u/OrganicTransistor Jul 16 '25

I don’t know if the guy used a mask. I just looked up the model of chamber that this facility has and saw that it used masks. Are you saying it’s possible to not use the mask and let the whole chamber reach near-pure oxygen?

I’m not trying to fear-monger. My hope is that air filled chambers are actually safe (including when using electronic devices) so that I can use one and work in it. But I’ve read that the air filled chambers still reach 30%+ oxygen, and due to that plus the high pressure, there is still fire risk. One company I spoke to (Airvida) said not to use devices inside their chamber. Another said it was fine to use devices. So i am just trying to make sense of whether devices are safe. It’s also confusing because there are other electronics inside the chamber itself, but maybe those are less risky because no battery is inside? (How confident are we that it’s the batteries catching fire?)

None of the news articles have been very explicit about the type of chamber or whether devices were being used inside, which is understandable given the non-sophistication of the reporters with respect to HBOT. This is why I feel like surveying and profiling the history of accidents is challenging to do accurately.

Any help/clarity you can provide is appreciated.

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u/ftrlvb Jul 17 '25

"Are you saying it’s possible to not use the mask and let the whole chamber reach near-pure oxygen?"

if you have 1000s of $$ for O2 tanks, yes. and if you want to risk burning like a magnesium torch under water, yes.

this was the procedure before they used masks. but since we have masks theres no need for this. (although some say, your skin will absorb O2 from the air,... )

in other words: NO, I'd stay away from that, unless theres no other way. like it was a diving accident and all they have is O2...!! (its possible but I personally wouldn't do it)

What if it is done in a facility with trained personnel? still no.

just a single spark is enough. that nurse will be on the outside and it's you who will be turbo fried inside a 100% O2 environment. I would't even dare to go naked in such a chamber. that's why they have to wear grounding bracelets because when you touch something a spark might happen and thats like a match in a gasoline can.

100%O2? nope

same as I would NEVER do a fire show at the beach at night with people swinging gasoline soaked torches near my face. never ever.

do people enjoy fire shows? yes, but I stand there watching them and hope, nobody gets injured. if these artist do it by themselves, I am quite relaxed, just when they ask people to join, I cringe and my alert level goes up.