That makes a fire here in KY, and an explosion recently in the equine hyperbaric world. We can't get complacent about safety as the technology becomes affordable and common at equine rehab centers.
I think this type of chamber has a rate-limited emergency decompression rate (I'd have to ask Dr. Slovis), so a manual emergency decompression couldn't be done too fast for operator and patient safety (I hope!), and they shouldn't have been able to open the door latches until the decompression is completed.
I'll guess the panicking, kicking horse may have broken the door seal enough to cause the explosive decompression, or something went terribly mechanically wrong with the emergency decompress (too fast) or the door latching/hinges failed during the decompress or from damage from the horse. I don't know who builds this brand of unit, would have to look it up.
They should be able to figure the cause out pretty quickly. No comfort for the families of the deceased and injured.
I think it's important to remember that oxygen, even 100% and pressurized in a hyperbaric chamber, isn't a combustible gas, a spark will not "ignite" it and make it explode.
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"Have the clean racing people run any ads explaining that giving a horse a Starbucks and a chocolate poppyseed muffin for breakfast would likely result in a ten year suspension for the trainer?" - Dr. Andrew Roberts
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