Man falls to his death from Bellingham Towers building Wednesday

A man died Wednesday morning after a fall from the Bellingham Towers building, according to an email from Whatcom County Medical Examiner Dr. Gary Goldfogel.

Dr. Goldfogel said the man “fell from considerable height, likely from near the top of the towers building.”

Dr. Goldfogel said he should have confirmation of the identity of the man, the cause and method of death and a death certification later in the day.

“It has not been determined, as of yet, which floor this occurred,” Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy said. “There is still some investigation ongoing. There is nothing obvious we have discovered which would indicate foul play.”

The incident occurred shortly before 9:30 a.m., as the Bellingham Fire Department was dispatched to the Commercial Street address at 9:28 a.m., according to Pulse Point.

“We arrived quickly and determined that the person was deceased,” Bellingham Fire Assistant Chief Bill Hewett said. “We then turned the scene over to the Bellingham Police Department.”

The man fell to one of the lower roofs on the building, near the two-story parking garage, according to Hewett.

According to emprois.com, the Bellingham Towers has 15 floors above ground and stands 213.25 feet tall, making it the northernmost high-rise in the contiguous United States and the tallest building in northwest Washington. The building originally opened as a hotel in 1930, according to bellinghamtowers.com, and reopened as a luxury apartment building in 1962 after the hotel closed two years earlier.

This story was originally published August 23, 2018 at 8:32 AM.