Off-duty Ferndale firefighter dies in backcountry snowboarding accident near Mount Baker

An off-duty Ferndale firefighter died early Friday afternoon in an apparent snowboarding accident in the Mount Baker wilderness.

Capt. John DeVenere, 63, of Sedro-Woolley, became separated from his partner and fell into a tree well about 1:30 p.m. Friday. Rescue efforts failed to revive him, said Gwyn Howat, CEO of the Mt. Baker Ski Area.

Howat said the duo was outside the ski area in a place called Lower Rumble Gully below Mount Shuksan, a site popular with backcountry snowboarders, Howat said.

DeVenere’s partner got stuck in deep snow, then realized that DeVenere was missing and called the Ski Patrol, Howat said in a phone interview.

Firefighters were dispatched from Bellingham and the Kendall/Sumas area, and an airlift was considered. Rescuers dug DeVenere free and performed CPR.

“In this case, by the time we were able to get to him, too much time had passed,” Howat said. “He had the best possible care and the people on the scene are the people who I’d want working on me in a situation like that.”

A heavy winter storm battered the North Cascades for several days this week, dropping more than 6 feet of new snow at the Mt. Baker Ski area. Snow that deep can create a hazard called tree well immersion, where low-hanging branches keep snow from filling and compacting around the base of a tree. It’s possible to fall into those pockets of snow, become trapped and suffocate.

The Mt. Baker Ski Area recently posted a Tree Well and Deep Snow Safety alert on its website.

“Our thoughts are with his family,” Howat said.

DeVenere, who was married with three grown children, had been a career firefighter with Whatcom County Fire District 7 since 2000, and as a volunteer firefighter for several years before that, Chief Larry Hoffman said. He’d been a career firefighter in Florida before moving to Washington.

“He was a solid firefighter. He was one of those guys who if he started talking, everybody listened. He wasn’t always running his mouth,” Hoffman told The Herald in a phone call.

Hoffman said DeVenere was admired by his crew and trusted by command staff at District 7, which serves the Ferndale area.

“I knew that when John was out there, I didn’t have to worry,” Hoffman said. “He was one of those guys who you knew would get the job done.”

DeVenere worked mostly at Station 42 on Brown Road, where he mentored young firefighters in the department’s resident program.

DeVenere was a passionate snowboarder and a dedicated father. He’d been looking forward to a family heli-ski trip to Alaska this season and was entered in the Legendary Banked Slalom, an annual snowboarding event at the Mt. Baker Ski Area. He was entered in the Super Masters Plus category, Howat said.

His oldest son, Tyler DeVenere, told The Herald that he and his younger brother and sister grew up around the firehouse like it was a second home.

“They work 24-hour shifts. We’d all go to the firehouse and have dinner with (his crew). It was like an extended family,” he said in a phone call.

DeVenere was born in Miami and was a firefighter in Florida before he met his wife, a traveling nurse who lived near Bellingham. They married in Florida but moved to Washington in 1995, Tyler said.

“He was an amazing dad. He liked to have fun and he made all of our lives fun. He made time for us. (We’re) just trying to make sense of it all. He was an adventurous guy and he liked exciting things. He was in his happy place (snowboarding),” Tyler said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.