Crime & Safety

Eastside Fire & Rescue Participated in Weekend Mountain Rescues

Eastside Fire, along with the Bellevue Fire Department, participated in Snoqualmie Pass and Squak Mountain rescues on Sunday. Those incidents and an avalanche on Steven's Pass claimed the lives of four people altogether.

On Sunday, Feb. 19, Eastside Fire and Rescue and Bellevue Firefighters responded on multiple mountain rescue incidents that claimed four lives.

According to a news release from Bellevue Fire, during the afternoon hours of Feb. 19, Bellevue Firefighter/Paramedics assigned to Medic 3 responded with Eastside Fire and Snoqualmie Pass Fire and Rescue to a victim swept over a 500 foot cliff in the mountainous terrain above Alpental near Snoqualmie Pass. The victim was in a remote location with high avalance danger. Ski Patrol personnel managed to access the victim, who was then hoisted out by Guardian 2 rescue helicopter and treated by Bellevue Firefighter/Paramedics. Unfortunately the victim could not be revived. In all, Engine 82, 292, Medic 3, Aid 291, Rescue 85, and Battalion 71 responded along with Guardian 2.

It was a tragic day in the mountain passes as yet another avalanche to the north at Steven's Pass killed three more and injured others. Read about that incident, which claimed the lives of Jim Jack, a well-known head judge for the Freeskiing World Tour; Stevens Pass marketing director Chris Rudolph; and Johnny Brenan, a Leavenworth contractor, on Patch's affiliate, the Huffington Post.

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Late in the evening, Bellevue Fire reported, Eastside Fire and Rescue responded with Bellevue Fire to a rescue of a victim who had fallen off a bridge on Squak Mountain near Issaquah. The victim fell amid steep terrain with critical injuries. In all Engine 72, 83, Ladder 1, 73, Medic 14, Aid 71, and Battalion 71 responded. Bellevue Firefighter/Paramedics assigned to Medic 14 treated and transported the victim to Harborview Trauma Center in Seattle.

--Information from the Bellevue Fire Department

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