Crime & Safety
East Pierce Firefighter in Critical Condition After Diving Accident
An East Pierce firefighter is in critical condition after a diving accident in Elliot Bay.
A 50-year old East Pierce firefighter is in critical condition at Virginia Mason in Seattle after surviving a diving accident on May 10.
The man’s name has not been released, as requested by his family, said East Pierce Fire Chief Jerry Thorson.
“There isn’t much new to share at this point… he is still in the critical care unit at Virginia Mason and making small, incremental improvements,” said Thorson.
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East Pierce firefighters are taking shifts at the hospital to support the man’s family.
According to a May 13 article in the Bonney Lake-Sumner Courier Herald, a water taxi spotted the firefighter when he made a rapid ascent of more than 200 feet in Elliot Bay on May 10. Passengers in the water taxi helped bring him aboard a boat that was met by Seattle Fire.
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The man was treated for nitrogen bubbles and decompression sickness, it is unclear at this time why he ascended.
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