The first crews to arrive saw smoke throughout the building and while the chamber remained intact, it appeared a flash fire had occurred, the fire department said — referring to a fire that spreads rapidly through a diffuse fuel such as a gas or flammable vapor.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene and has been named by authorities as Walter Foxcroft, a 43-year-old Lake Havasu City resident who appeared to be the owner of the clinic. No one else was injured in the incident, the authorities said.
Foxcroft, a physical therapist and hyperbaric clinician, was a co-founder of Havasu Health and Hyperbarics clinic, which is in the block attended by fire crews. A sign outside the clinic said it was closed, and flowers had been placed at the site, local media outlet Havasu News reported, as friends mourned and paid tribute to Foxcroft.
The clinic opened in October last year, co-founded by Foxcroft and Lucinda Mallory, according to a news release. It aimed to provide patients with “the tools they need to achieve peak health and recovery,” Foxcroft said at the time. The company website described its hyperbaric oxygen therapy as beneficial for accelerated healing, fighting infection and aging.
Havasu Health and Hyperbarics did not immediately reply to an overnight request for comment.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used to speed up healing of wounds or infections where tissues are in need of oxygen, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. It involves breathing pure oxygen inside a chamber that has air pressure 1.5 to three times higher than average, allowing blood to fill with oxygen and help repair tissues.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of hyperbaric chambers for some disorders such as air and gas bubbles in the blood, carbon monoxide poisoning, crush injuries, gangrene and severe infections.
However treatments for other issues like cancer, Lyme disease, autism, or Alzheimer’s disease are not proven. It also contains risks such as pain to the middle ear, eye damage, lung collapse and oxygen poisoning, the FDA said, urging people to check with their health care provider before using them and seek treatment at an approved facility.
An intense, rapid fire is also a risk in a hyperbaric chamber due to the high-oxygen environment, according to University of Iowa health care. The enclosed and pressurized chamber means that opening the chamber quickly is not always possible, and it’s difficult to ventilate any smoke or fumes, it said.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the Lake Havasu incident and the circumstances surrounding it.
Foxcroft is a graduate of Touro University Nevada where he earned a doctorate in physical therapy and studied physiological science at the University of Arizona, according to a profile on his company website. He also worked as a mascot for the Arizona Cardinals, known as Big Red, it said.
University of Arizona Cheerleaders and Mascots said it was “deeply saddened” by the death of Foxcroft, who worked as the Wilbur T. Wildcat Mascot from 2002 to 2005, in a social media tribute.
“Wally was an unforgettable presence on the sidelines — an energetic, charismatic performer known for his signature moonwalk and passion for bringing joy to Arizona fans,” it said. “Wally’s dedication to uplifting others — through performance, healing, and innovation — will never be forgotten.”
Kirk Sibley, a former mascot who worked alongside Foxcroft at the University of Arizona, told Fox 10 Phoenix that he was a “beautiful person” who was “larger than life.”
The Arizona death comes after a 5-year-old boy died in Troy, Michigan, in February when a hyperbaric chamber exploded when he was inside. “The presence of such a high amount of oxygen in a pressurized environment can make it extremely combustible,” Lt. Keith Young of the Troy fire department said at the time.
The owner and two employees at the clinic where the boy’s death occurred have been charged with second-degree murder, according to a statement from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in March. The operator of the chamber was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
