Reference library
Hyperbaric technical reference
A sourced reference library for chamber owners, facility managers and safety directors. Every technical statement here links to the standard, agency or professional society that published it — and where no numeric requirement exists, this library says so instead of inventing one.
Why this exists
Compliance questions deserve traceable answers.
Owners are routinely told that a chamber “must” be inspected on some cadence, or that a room “must” have a particular clearance, without any indication of where that requirement comes from. Some of those statements are codified. Some are the manufacturer’s instruction. Some are voluntary accreditation criteria. And some are not written down anywhere.
This section separates them. Each page states the substance of a requirement, labels where it comes from, and links the official source so you can verify it against the edition your authority having jurisdiction actually enforces.
Two of the primary documents behind this material — NFPA 99 and the ASME PVHO standards — are copyrighted and paywalled. NFPA offers free read-only online access to its codes after account sign-in, and states those documents cannot be downloaded or printed. Buy or access the editions your jurisdiction enforces; nothing on this site replaces them.
How claims are labeled
Four categories
Written into a code or standard
A published requirement in NFPA 99, NFPA 70, or an ASME PVHO standard. Enforceable where your authority having jurisdiction has adopted that edition.
The standard names the duty, not the number
The code requires that the task be done and documented, and leaves the interval to the manufacturer, the facility’s own maintenance program, or the jurisdiction.
Accreditation guidance
UHMS accreditation criteria. Real obligations for an accredited facility, and useful practice for everyone else, but not code unless an authority adopts them.
Federal or military guidance
Documents such as the U.S. Navy’s hyperbaric maintenance manual. Publicly readable, concrete, and a useful benchmark — but written for Navy facilities, not commercial ones.
Contents
Seven reference pages
- 01
NFPA 99, Chapter 14
What the Health Care Facilities Code governs for hyperbaric facilities: chamber classification, room construction, ventilation, electrical and grounding, gas monitoring, fire suppression, and the maintenance provisions that do — and do not — carry numeric intervals.
Open → - 02
ASME PVHO-1 and PVHO-2
What PVHO-1 certifies about a pressure vessel for human occupancy, and what PVHO-2 requires once that vessel is in service: gauge calibration, viewport inspection intervals, refurbishment, and the retest interval the standard deliberately delegates.
Open → - 03
Chamber types and classification
Class A, B and C; monoplace versus multiplace; hard-shell versus soft-sided — pressure ranges and the requirements that change with classification.
Open → - 04
Oxygen and ignition safety
Why oxygen enrichment changes fire behaviour, the 23.5 percent threshold that triggers alarms and antistatic procedure, prohibited materials, grounding, and what the FDA said about HBOT fires in August 2025.
Open → - 05
Site and electrical requirements
The pre-installation checklist with each line labeled by source — codified, National Electrical Code, or manufacturer-specified — including a plain statement of which dimensions are not codified at all.
Open → - 06
Maintenance and inspection intervals
Four buckets: intervals fixed in code, duties the code defers to your program or manufacturer, voluntary accreditation cadences, and the published military schedule. The clearest argument for a documented program.
Open → - 07
Accreditation and credentialing
UHMS facility accreditation, NBDHMT personnel certification, IBUM and IHA — what each one is, and what each one does not signify.
Open →
Paragraph numbering inside NFPA 99 Chapter 14 shifts between editions, so this library cites provisions by substance and by chapter, never by paragraph number. Because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services references an earlier edition, UHMS notes that accrediting organizations must cite that edition too, which is why both older and current editions are often needed in the same conversation (UHMS Safety Committee FAQ). Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction enforces before you act on any requirement.
Hyperbaric Service Pros installs, services, and maintains hyperbaric equipment. We are not a medical facility and do not provide medical advice or treatment. Technical information on this site is general reference only — always follow your chamber manufacturer's documentation and the codes enforced in your jurisdiction.
Also useful
Questions owners ask us
The frequently asked questions page covers what a service visit includes, how nationwide dispatch works, what documentation you receive, and what to have ready when you request service.
Sources
Every claim on this page, traced to its source
- NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code — official code page (current edition 2024)https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-99-standard-development/99
- NFPA free read-only access to codes and standardshttps://www.nfpa.org/for-professionals/codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/free-access
- NFPA 99 Chapter 14, Hyperbaric Facilities — UpCodes public viewerhttps://up.codes/viewer/centers-for-medicare-and-medicaid-services/nfpa-99-2012/chapter/14/hyperbaric-facilities
- UHMS Safety Committee FAQ — standards and codeshttps://www.uhms.org/tl/resources/featured-resources/medfaqs-frequently-asked-questions-faq/safety-technical/standards-and-codes.html
- ASME PVHO-1, Safety Standard for Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancyhttps://www.asme.org/codes-standards/find-codes-standards/safety-standard-for-pressure-vessels-for-human-occupancy
- ASME PVHO-2, Post-Construction Requirementshttps://www.asme.org/codes-standards/find-codes-standards/safety-standard-for-pressure-vessels-for-human-occupancy-in-service-guidelines
Start a work order
Tell us the chamber, the site, and the timeline.
Make, model, serial number, photos, site address — send it all in one text or email and we can scope, price or diagnose it without a round of phone tag. Complete requests get worked first, simply because they can be.