One Bellingham Fire Department veteran officer retired and another resigned after an investigation revealed a deceased patient in July was taken to Fire Station 1 to await pick up from a funeral home and several department members, including a division chief and EMS captains, practiced multiple intubations on the body, according to information provided by City of Bellingham Communications Director Vanessa Blackburn.
“In early August, I first learned of an incident at Bellingham Fire Department Station 1 during which department personnel successively performed a medical procedure, endotracheal intubation, on a deceased person,” Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Newbold said in a prepared statement in response to questions from The Bellingham Herald. “This incident was neither normal nor acceptable.
“The chief officer directing this activity was immediately placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a complete and thorough investigation.