Second heat-related death reported in Seattle
Published 12:33 am Saturday, August 1, 2009
SEATTLE — A second heat-related death has been reported in Seattle even as temperatures moderate from the scorching weather of earlier this week.
Hospital officials in Tacoma earlier reported a heat-related death there.
In Seattle, Northwest Hospital spokeswoman Karen Peck said late Friday that a 45-year-old Seattle man with a number of significant chronic health issues died Thursday after being brought in by ambulance. She said doctors believe heat was a contributing factor in the death.
Privacy rules prevented her from identifying the man or discussing his health issues.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office said heart disease was a contributing factor in Wednesday’s heat-related death of 66-year-old Allen J. Paul of Seattle.
Also on Wednesday, a man in his 50s died at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma of a heat-related illness, according to Franciscan Health System spokesperson Gale Robinette.
The thermometer hit 103 degrees Wednesday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking a previous record of 100 degrees, set in downtown Seattle in 1941 and repeated at the airport in 1994.
