Saturday morning's local newspaper report.
Woman, 4-year-old boy critically injured in explosion at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea hyperbaric facility
Explosions in concentrated-oxygen chambers extremely rare in U.S.
By Rafael A. Olmeda, Mike Clary and Alexia Campbell | South Florida Sun Sentinel 11:30 PM EDT, May 1, 2009 LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA - A highly flammable oxygen chamber at a private clinic exploded into flames Friday, critically burning a woman and young boy who was plucked from the fiery bed by a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy.
The explosion occurred shortly before noon at the Ocean Hyperbaric Oxygen Neurologic Center, 4001 N. Ocean Drive, where the oxygen chambers appeared old, investigating authorities said.
Franchesco Martinizi, 4, and Vincenza Pesce, 62, were flown to Jackson Memorial Hospital's burn unit, said sherrif's office spokesman Mike Jachles.
"They both sustained critical burns, the child probably more serious," he said.
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"They brought him out on a stretcher. His skin was blackened," said Nicole Huffman, a dental assistant who works on the top floor of the three-story building.
Oxygen chambers, also called hyperbaric chambers, are commonly used for diving injuries. In recent years the chambers, which are filled with 100 percent oxygen, are used to treat various illnesses and wounds.
The names and conditions of the victims were not immediately released. "We haven't confirmed the relationship between the boy and the woman, although we were told it was a grandmother and grandson," Jachles said.
The first deputy to arrive at the first-floor clinic found the room engulfed in heavy smoke and flames.
"The hyperbaric bed, according to the deputy, was on fire," Jachles said. "He risked his own life to go in there and pull this little boy out."
The state Fire Marshal's Office and sheriff's deputies are investigating.
To avoid fires in hyperbaric chambers, patients must wear cotton clothing and must not have anything that can cause a spark, such as jewelry.
"You have to take precautions because you're dealing with 100 percent oxygen," said Hope Fine, who runs a Deerfield Beach hyperbaric clinic called the South Florida Center for H.O.P.E. "There's not supposed to be anything electrical in the chamber at all."
The Food and Drug Administration approves the use of hyperbaric chambers for treating 14 conditions such as gangrene and cyanide poisoning. Doctors may also prescribe the treatment for conditions not listed by the FDA, such as cerebral palsy.
While oxygen makes up about 20 percent of the air we breathe, a hyperbaric chamber's 100 percent oxygen infuses every cell in the body. Advocates say it accelerates the healing of wounds and can activate neurons in those with brain ailments. The treatment has not been universally accepted by the medical community.
"Many times it's not considered mainstream medicine," Fine said.
There are about a half-dozen free-standing hyperbaric clinics in South Florida, said Shannon Kenitz, director of the Hacienda Heights, Calif.-based International Hyperbarics Association, which issues safety guidelines and certifies clinics. Unless a clinic is approved as a Medicare provider there is no state regulation.
About four of South Florida's hyperbaric clinics are approved by the IHA, Kenitz said; the center where the explosion occurred is not among them.
That center was founded in 1972 by Dr. Richard Neubauer, who died in 2007. Corporate records list his widow, Winnie, 83, of Pompano Beach, as its current manager. Winnie Neubauer could not be reached for comment despite two messages left on her answering machine.
Kenitz worked at the Neubauer clinic until 2005, and complained about safety, she said.
"They are using chambers that are pretty old chambers," she said.
Jachles too said the chambers in the room that exploded "appeared older."
Staff writers Mike Clary and Alexia Campbell and staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report. Robert Nolin can be reached at
rnolin@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4525.
