Overview
- On the sixth day of the preliminary examination, Troy Fire Deputy Chief Shawn Hugg testified that static electric discharge was the likely ignition source in the Jan. 31, 2025 explosion that killed 5-year-old Thomas Cooper.
- Hugg said a grounding wrist strap would likely have reduced the risk by equalizing the patient’s electric potential with other conductors inside the oxygen-rich monoplace chamber.
- He cited NFPA 921 guidance and relied on reports from hyperbaric experts Francois Burman and Andrew Melnyczenko, who emphasized strict grounding and limits on synthetic materials in chambers.
- Defense lawyers pressed Hugg on uncompleted testing, including an oxygen-tank sample, and he acknowledged he could not rule out fabric-to-fabric static with absolute certainty.
- CEO Tamela Peterson, safety manager Jeffrey Mosteller, and management assistant Gary Marken face second-degree murder charges with involuntary manslaughter as an alternative, while operator Aleta Moffitt is charged with involuntary manslaughter and falsifying records, with the hearing set to resume Jan. 12, 2026 before Judge Maureen McGinnis.