Troy — Immediately before fire erupted in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber where 5-year-old Thomas Cooper was receiving treatment in late January, the boy's knee touched the mattress, possibly causing static electricity to build up and lead to the spark that started the blaze, according to an expert on hyperbaric chambers.

Testifying Tuesday in Troy's 52-4 District Court, hyperbaric expert Francois Burman, who conducts safety surveys of recompression and clinical hyperbaric facilities internationally and is a frequent lecturer on hyperbaric safety topics, said Thomas was not wearing a grounding strap. Burman said a grounding strap could have prevented the instantaneous fire that broke out in the chamber Jan. 31, killing the Royal Oak boy.

"You could see very clearly when he moved the sheet o

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