A former firefighter who suffered permanent brain damage when his oxygen tank unexpectedly ran out of air recently settled a lawsuit with the device's manufacturer for $6.5 million. On October 12, 1998, Mike LeBrun was fighting a fire on the 27th floor of a nursing home in St. Louis, Missouri when his air tank ran out of oxygen. A safety alarm designed to warn a firefighter when his air supply was nearing depletion failed to sound. While attempting to evacuate the enflamed building, LeBrun mistakenly entered a janitor's closet and became entangled in wire. Firefighters eventually rescued him, but not before the lack of oxygen had caused severe neurological damage.

LeBrun and his wife filed a lawsuit against the tank's manufacturer, Mine Safety Appliances Co., alleging the oxygen tank was defective because of a loose alarm bell. An investigation by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health also found that the device was faulty.