Hundreds of people lined the streets of downtown Lynden Tuesday afternoon to honor the city’s fire chief.
Robert Spinner died from an apparent heart attack late last week, according to the Whatcom County Fire Chief's Association (WCFCA). On Tuesday, the Lynden Fire Department escorted his body from the Whatcom County Medical Examiner's Office in Bellingham to Gillies Funeral Home in Lynden.
Losing someone like Spinner hits just about everyone in a city of Lynden's size, one resident said along the procession route.
"To have a loss such as this is just such a deep impact," said Kristin Stadt.
Stadt felt it as she waited for the procession to make its way to downtown.
The loss of the city’s fire chief hits home for her.
Her father is also a firefighter, she said.