Overview

• Walter “Wally” Foxcroft was killed inside a hyperbaric chamber at his Lake Havasu City clinic when a late-night flash fire erupted on July 9.
• Lake Havasu City fire and police departments have secured the clinic and are investigating the flash fire’s origin without releasing a definitive cause.
• Experts emphasize that pure oxygen under pressure can fuel flash fires, prompting calls for enforced fire-prevention protocols in hyperbaric facilities.
• This second U.S. hyperbaric therapy fatality in 2025 follows a January flash fire that killed a 5-year-old in Michigan and has intensified scrutiny of safety gaps.
• Foxcroft, who founded Havasu Health and Hyperbarics in 2024 and once performed as Wilbur T. Wildcat and the Arizona Cardinals’ Big Red mascot, is mourned for his healing work and community spirit.